UC-NRLF 


$B    bfl    fioBT 


-'    'W^ 


LIBRARV 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


Class 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/churchyoungmenOOcresrich 


^be  'Clnfversfts  ot  Cblcaflo 

FOUNDED  BY  JOHN  D.  ROCKEFELLER 


THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 


A  DISSERTATION  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTIES  OF  THE  GRADUATE 

SCHOOLS  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE,  IN  CANDIDACY  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

(DEPARTMENT  OF  SOCIOLOGY) 


BY 

FRANK  GRAVES  CRESSEY 


CHICAGO      NEW  YORK     TORONTO 

FLEMING   H.  REVELL   COMPANY 

LONDON   AND  EDINBURGH 
1904 


Copyright,  19041  by 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

{January) 


Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 
New  York:  i$8  Fifth  Avenue 
Toronto:  27  Richmond  Street  W 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    30     St. Mary    Street 


TO 

YOUNG  MEN 

AND  ALL  WHO  ARE  INTERESTED  IN 

PROMOTING 

THEIR  SPIRITUAL  WELFARE 


O/ 


PREFACE 

The  purpose  of  this  study  is  to  afford  some  help 
to  those  who  are  engaged  in  promoting,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
young  men.  It  is  a  working  handbook  of  prac- 
tical methods,  rather  than  a  philosophical  discus- 
sion of  theoretical  principles. 

The  information  and  opinions  have  been 
gathered  at  first  hand  from  successful  leaders  of 
young  men  in  all  the  principal  denominations 
and  in  all  sections  of  the  United  States.  The 
i^uestionnaire  method  was  employed,  over  two 
thousand  schedules  being  sent  to  pastors,  super- 
intendents, secretaries,  college  officials,  and 
others,  including  many  to  young  men  themselves. 
These  schedules  were  of  seven  kinds  and  con- 
tained from  thirty  to  sixty  questions,  mostly  con- 
cerning matters  of  fact  but  also  calling  for 
opinions.  Nearly  six  hundred  were  returned  (one 
hundred  and  thirty  being  from  the  young  men), 
and  the  replies  were  analyzed  and  tabulated. 
Several  hundred  reports  and  other  forms  of  printed 
matter  were  also  received  and  considered.  The 
following  pages,  therefore,  not  only  present  fresh 
and  reliable  facts  but  also  valuable  opinions. 

To  the  many  who  have  thus  generously  given 
their  cooperation,  often  at   no  small  sacrifice  of 

vii 


Vlll  PREFACE 

valuable  time,  grateful  acknowledgment  of  large 
indebtedness  is  hereby  made,  chief  among  them 
being  the  writer's  valued  friend  and  instructor. 
Dr.  Henderson. 

It  has,  of  course,  been  impossible  to  present 
all  the  agencies  in  the  United  States  which  are 
engaged  in  promoting  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
young  men,  and  the  omission  of  some  is  not 
necessarily  to  their  disparagement.  All  the 
principal  methods  have,  however,  been  given,  as 
far  as  discovered  in  the  course  of  many  months 
of  wide  and  careful  investigation. 

Many  books  have  been  consulted  and  a  list  of 
those  considered  valuable,  together  with  all  men- 
tioned in  the  text,  will  be  found  at  the  close. 
Quotations  of  Scripture  are  from  the  American 
Standard  edition  of  the  Revised  Version.  Books 
have  been  cited  and  frequent  addresses  given  in 
order  to  aid  those  who  may  wish  to  make  further 
investigation  in  this  great  field,  of  which  this 
professes  to  be  only  a  general  survey. 

A  constant  effort  has  been  made  throughout 
this  study  to  exercise  judicial  fairness  in  estimat- 
ing the  value  of  the  agencies  discussed.  Wher- 
ever adverse  criticism  has  seemed  necessary  it 
has  been  freely  made,  but  always  with  a  due 
appreciation  of  the  good  accomplished  and  an 
^earnest  desire  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the 
means  under  consideration.  The  worth  of  each 
has  been  measured  not  from  the  point  of  view  of 
its  own  immediate  interest,  nor  that  of  any  par- 


PREFACE  IX 


ticular  church  or  denomination.  Rather  has  the 
standpoint,  in  keeping  with  the  aim,  been  the 
higher  one  of  the  promotion  of  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  young  men.  The  dominant  spirit  is 
therefore  sympathetically  constructive,  rather 
than  critically  destructive. 

Although  the  study  was  undertaken  primarily 
in  partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  for  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Divinity 
School  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  this  aim  has 
constantly  been  the  controlling  motive.  If  it 
shall  prove  to  be  of  service  in  advancing  the 
interests  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  among  young 
men,  it  will  have  attained  its  chief  object. 


The  University  of  Chicago, 
September^  igoj. 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS 

L  The  Spiritual  Condition  of  Young  Men       .    .  i 
Considered  from  the — 

A.  Standpoint  of  their  own  welfare     ....  i 

B.  Standpoint  of  the  welfare  of  society   ...  7 

II.  The  Spiritual  Nature  of  Young  Men  .    .    .     .  ii 

A.  The  scientific  study  of  religious  life    .     .     .  ii 

B.  Birth 14 

1.  Its  necessity 14 

2.  How  it  comes 15 

i)  Primary  conditions 16 

2)  Secondary  conditions      ....  17 

(1)  Age 17 

(2)  Physical        and       mental 

changes 18 

C.  Growth 20 

1.  Physiological  characteristics  .     .     .     .  21 

2.  Psychological  characteristics  ....  22 

D.  Standards  of  judgment 24 

III.  The  Church  Proper 25 

A.  Why  do  not  young  men  go  to  church?     .     .  25 

1.  Replies  from  pastors 26 

2.  Replies  from  young  men 28 

3.  Summary 29 

B.  The  pastor 31 

C.  Preaching 33 

D.  Public  worship 41 

E.  The  prayer-meeting 43 

xi 


Xll  TABLE    OF   CONTENTS 

IV.  The  Sunday-school 45 

A.  Historical  statement 45 

B.  Definition 47 

C.  A  failure,  with  some  causes  and  suggestions  48 

I.  The  failure  to  hold  young  men  .     .    ^  48 

a.  Some  causes 50 

i)  Young  men  themselves  .     .     .     .  50 

2)  Deficient  home  training     ...  51 

3)  Absence  of  adults 52 

4)  Separation  of  church  and  school .  52 

5)  Non-conversion  of  boys  ....  54 

6)  Lack  of  male  teachers    ....  56 

7)  Poor  teaching 56 

3.  Some  suggestions 58 

i)  The  lesson 58 

2)  Grading 60 

3)  Questions 61 

4)  Mixed  classes 62 

5)  Sex  of  teacher 62 

6)  Time  of  meeting 63 

7)  Separate  room 64 

D.  Organized  classes 64 

1.  Class  Number  Eight 65 

2.  The  Vaughn  Class 70 

3.  The  Baraca  Class  and  Union ....  74 

4.  Other  claSvSes 79 

V.  The  Young  People's  Society 85 

A.  General  survey 85 

B.  Purpose 88 

C.  Membership  basis 9c 

D.  Confession  of  Christ 94 

1.  Value  of  testimony 94 

2.  Compulsory  testimony   ...          .     .  95 

3.  Character  of  testimony 97 

4.  Length  of  meeting 99 

E.  Service  for  Christ 100 

F.  Conclusion 109 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS  Xlll 

VI.  The  Brotherhood 113 

A.  The  Brotherhood  of  Saint  Andrew     .     .    .113 

1.  History  and  organization 113 

2.  Object 114 

3.  Membership  basis 115 

4.  Methods 117 

B.  The  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip  .    .  118 

1.  Founding  and  growth 118 

2.  Purpose  and  methods 120 

3.  Membership  basis 121 

4.  Advantages 122 

C.  The  Brotherhood  of  Saint  Paul 123 

1.  Object 123 

2.  Principles 123 

3.  Aims 124 

4.  Advantages 124 

5.  Growth 125 

6.  Juniors 125 

7.  Local  organizations 125 

8.  Degrees 126 

9.  Results 127 

D.  The  Gideons 128 

1.  History 128 

2.  Object  and  methods 130 

E.  The  Young  Men's  Presbyterian  Union    .    .131 

F.  The  Sunday  Evening  Club 135 

G.  Pleasant  Sunday  Afternoons 136 

H.  Other  organizations      ........  137 

VII.  The  Institutional  Church 140 

A.  Need  and  deiinition 140 

B.  Methods  and  results 142 

1.  Saint  George's  Church 142 

2.  Saint  Bartholomew's  Church.     .     .     .  144 

3.  Judson  Memorial  Church 145 

4.  Christ  Church 148 

C.  Requisites  and  standards  of  success   .    .    .148 


XIV  TABLE    OF   CONTENTS 


VIII.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  .    .     .155 

A.  Beginnings 156 

B.  Growth 160 

C.  Membership  basis 163 

D.  Lines  of  work 166 

1.  Religious 166 

i)  Bible  study 167 

2)  Religious  meetings 168 

3)  Personal  work 170 

4)  Shop  meetings 171 

5)  Office  Bible  classes 176 

6)  Foreign  missions 176 

2.  Educational 177 

3.  Physical 180 

4.  Social 181 

E.  Special  classes 182 

1.  Students 182 

2.  Railroad  men 186 

3.  Traveling  men 188 

4.  Wage-earners 18S 

5.  Army  and  navy 190 

6.  Colored  men 191 

7.  North  American  Indians 191 

8.  Boys 192 

P.  Training  schools 192 

G.  Women's  auxiliaries 193 

H.  Young  men  not  reached 194 

I.  Relation  to  the  churches 197 

IX.  The  Salvation  Army 208 

A.  Rise  and  progress 208 

B.  Work  in  the  United  States 213 

X.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church 221 

A.  General  situation 221 

B.  The  Sodality 223 

C.  The  Young  Men's  Institute 223 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS  XV 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church — Continued 

D.  Temperance  societies 224 

1.  The  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union   224 

2.  The  Knights  of  Father  Mathew.      .     .  224 

E.  Fraternal  organizations 226 

1.  The  Knights  of  Columbus 226 

2.  The  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters     .     .  227 

Bibliography 228 


The    Church   and   Young   Men 
CHAPTER  I 

THE  SPIRITUAL  CONDITION  OF  YOUNG  MEN 

Inasmuch  as  the  primary  purpose  of  this  study 
is  the  promotion  of  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
young  men  it  is  essential  at  the  outset  to  have 
some  conception  of  their  condition.  All  who 
are  at  all  familiar  with  the  problems  of  the  spirit- 
ual life  will  recognize  two  difficulties:  first,  to 
determine  what  conditions  exist;  and  second,  to 
express  them  in  any  reasonably  adequate  manner. 
The  difficulty  is  not  only  inherent  in  the  facts 
themselves,  but  equally  in  the  investigator's 
personal  bias,  which  is  usually  strong  and  probably 
never  capable  either  of  total  elimination  or  of 
exact  calculation.  It  may  be  true  that  "figures 
do  not  lie,"  but  they  often  fail  of  correctly  rep- 
resenting the  conditions  on  which  they  are  based. 
Nevertheless  they  are  of  much  value  in  such  a 
case  as  this,  and  at  least  give  a  fairly  accurate 
representation  of  general  facts  and  tendencies. 
With  this  word  of  caution,  some  are  here  given. 

A.       FROM   THE   STANDPOINT   OF  YOUNG   MEN 

According   to    the  census  of    1900,    the  pop- 
ulation  of  the   United   States,  exclusive   of  the 


2       THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

island  possessions,  was  75,994,575,  of  whom  13,- 
,432,928,  or  17.8  per  cent,  were  young  men  be- 
Itween  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  thirty-five  in- 
Iclusive,  the  age  limits  to  be  observed  throughout 
I  this  study.  Assuming  the  same  rate  of  increase 
in  the  subsequent  three  years  as  in  the  preced- 
ing ten,  the  total  population  now  is  approxi- 
mately 80,500,000,  of  whom  14,250,000  are  young 
men. 

According  to  the  census  of  1890,  the  total 
membership  of  all  churches,  counting  only  com- 
municants, was  20,612,000.  Similar  statistics  were 
not  secured  in  the  census  of  1900,  but  in  January 
of  that  year  Dr.  H.  K.  Carroll,  who  had  charge 
of  such  work  in  the  census  of  1890,  estimated 
the  total  church  membership  at  27,710,000. 

There  are  now  approximately  29,000,000  mem- 
bers, of  whom  practically  all  are  twelve  years 
old  and  over.  The  total  population  of  this  age 
is  approximately  56,000,000;  from  which  it 
appears  that  of  the  entire  number  of  persons 
commonly  considered  old  enough  to  enter  into 
such  relations  51.8  per  cent,  or  a  little  over  one- 
half,  are  church  members.  The  discrepancy 
between  this  ratio  and  that  commonly  given, 
one-third,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  latter  is 
based  on  the  total  population,  from  one  day  up, 
which  is  manifestly  unfair  to  the  cause  of  relig- 
ion. 

Reports  from  seventy-eight  churches,  repre- 
senting the  leading  Protestant  denominations  in 


SPIRITUAL  CONDITION   OF   YOUNG  MEN        3 

all  parts  of  the  land,  show  that  in  a  total  mem- 
bership of  43,635  the  young  men  number  7,819, 
or  17.9  percent.  On  this  basis,  which  is  certainly 
not  below  normal,  since  many  of  these  churches 
are  especially  successful  in  this  direction,  there 
are  5,191,000  young  men  who  are  church  mem- 
bers, or  36.4  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
young  men.  The  discrepancy  between  this  and 
the  ratio  previously  given  for  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  the  church  age,  51.8  per  cent,  is  in 
line  with  the  familiar  fact  that  almost  uniformly 
men  are  decidedly  in  the  minority  in  the 
churches.  In  the  seventy-eight  before  referred 
to  the  proportion  is  thirty-seven  men  to  sixty- 
three  women,  which  is  substantially  the  same 
as  discovered  by  other  students  of  this  prob- 
lem. 

Forty  pastors  reported  that  out  of  a  total 
average  morning  attendance  of  14,088,  2,744,  or 
20  per  cent,  were  young  men,  while  the  figures 
for  the  evening  were  respectively  15,954,  4,768, 
and  30  per  cent.  Now  these  forty  churches  had 
23,015  members,  making  the  average  evening 
attendance  of  young  men  equal  to  20  per  cent 
of  the  membership.  On  the  estimated  basis  of  „ 
29,000,000  church  members,  there  are  then  nearly 
6,000,000  young  men  that  do  attend  church  ser- 
vices to  some  extent,  very  many  of  them  with  ^ 
great  faithfulness. 

That  young  men,   indeed,   are  as   a  class  more 
faithful   in  this   regard   than  their  elders    seems 


4       THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

clear  from  a  study  of  nearly  four  thousand  mem- 
bers of  the  central  department  of  the  Chicago 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  At  sixteen 
the  percentage  of  church  attendance  is  the  highest, 
the  ratio  decreasing  gradually  and  reaching  its 
lowest  point  after  thirty-five.*  That  young  men 
are  less  at  fault  than  others  in  the  matter  of  church 
attendance  is  also  evident  from  the  figures 
already  given,  showing  that  while  they  constitute 
i8  per  cent  of  the  church  membership  they  make 
up  20  per  cent  and  30  per  cent  respectively  of 
the  morning  and  evening  congregations.  They 
are,  of  course,  ordinarily  more  free  from  the  home 
cares  that  often  keep  their  elders  away  from 
church,  but  we  are  here  concerned  with  the 
fact,  not  with   its  explanation. 

Young  men,  therefore,  are  by  no  means  as 
largely  at  fault  in  this  matter  as  they  are  com- 
monly represented  to  be.  The  situation  is  very 
far  from  being  as  bad  as  it  is  painted  by  those 
gloomy  prophets — false  prophets,  rather — who 
would  have  it  that  the  world  is  growing  worse. 
It  is  bad  enough  to  be  sure,  but  no  one  can  read 
the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century  with  open 
eyes  and  an  unprejudiced  mind  without  seeing 
the  great  advance  not  simply  in  the  outer  and 
material  forms  of  civilization  but  in  its  inner  and 
moral  content.  One  needs  only  to  consider  that 
in  1800  only  7  per  cent  of  the  total  population  of 

*  Tk4  Htligious  Condition  of  Young  Men,  p.  37. 


SPIRITUAL  CONDITION    OF   YOUNG   MEN         5 

the  United  States  were  church  members,^  whereas 
to-day  the  ratio  is  36  per  cent,  the  members  in- 
creasing from  364,000  to  29,000,000.  Not  only 
has  there  been  this  great  gain  in  numbers,  but 
there  has  also  been  a  great  increase  in  activity,  as 
indicated  by  the  rise  of  foreign  missions,  the  mod- 
ern Sunday-school,  young  people's  societies, 
brotherhoods,  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations, and  kindred  movements,  in  all  of  which 
young  men  have  a  large  and  honorable  share. 
The  churches  are  by  no  means  few  in  which 
they  are  the  chief  elements  of  strength,  both 
in  numbers  and  service. 

Turning  from  this  brighter  view  of  the  spirit- 
ual condition  of  the  young  men  in  our  land,  which 
is  too  often  left  out  of  account,  we  must  consider 
also  the  darker  side. 

From  these  investigations  it  appears  that  the 
large  majority  of  young  men,  or  9,059,000  out  of 
14,250,000,  are  outside  of  church  membership. 
Even  after  allowing  a  large  margin  for  those  who"" 
are  not  members  but  attend  religious  services  at 
least  occasionally,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  fully  one- 
half  are  wholly  outside  of  church  fellowship  or 
direct  influence.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  all  too 
evident  that  vast  numbers  of  young  men  are  lead- 
ing lives  of  positive  immorality  and  are  under  the 
influence  of  forces  that  are  working  their  temporal 
and  eternal  ruin.  The  following  statement  makes 
this  all  too  evident:     "On  Sunday  evening,  Feb- 

•  The  Growth  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  p.  139. 


6       THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ruary  26,  1899,  a  careful  count  was  made  of  men 
in  a  Madison  Street  (Chicago)  saloon  at  seven 
o'clock.  The  number  was  524,  and  during  the 
next  two  hours  480  more  entered.  At  one  of 
thebilliard tables  young  men  six  deep  on  all  sides 
were  engaged  in  open  gambling.  Private  stair- 
ways connect  this  saloon  with  the  vilest  theater 
in  the  city.  The  attendance  of  men  from  about 
fifteen  to  forty-five  years  of  age  at  seventeen 
theaters  the  same  evening  was  17, 160,  the  larger  au- 
diences being  found  in  the  most  degrading  places. 

"Continuing  the  enumeration  of  destructive 
forces,  we  must  add  the  houses  of  ill  repute.  In 
one  ward  there  are  312  such  houses,  with  1,708 
inmates.  It  is  believed  that  there  are  not  less 
than  1,000  men  in  the  city  who  make  it  their  bus- 
iness to  lure  men  to  these  places.  There  are 
probably  not  less  than  50,000  men  directly 
engaged  in  public  places  of  resort  commonly  held 
to  be  demoralizing  and  criminal  in  tendency.  It 
is  thus  seen  that  of  the  total  male  population 
about  one  in  twenty  is  engaged  in  an  occupation 
which  tends  to  ruin  young  manhood."^ 

These  figures  could  doubtless  be  duplicated, 
with  little  change  save  for  differences  of  popula- 
tion, for  well  nigh  every  city  in  the  land.  Similar 
facts  indeed  have  been  collected  in  many  cities 
and  published  in  Dying  at  the  Top,  a  little  book 
that  is  worth  reading  by  all  young  men  and  those 
who  are  interested  in  their  welfare.     No  one  who 

>  The  Religious  Condition  of  Young  Men,  pp.  ii,  12. 


SPIRITUAL  CONDITION   OF   YOUNG   MEN         7 

is  even  in  the  slightest  degree  conscious  of  the 
religious  and  moral  condition  of  millions  of  our 
young  men  can  fail  to  see  how  momentous  is  the 
situation  from  the  standpoint  of  their  own  good. 
That  alone  ought  to  be  enough  to  arouse  the 
interest  and  enlist  the  cooperation  of  all  right- 
minded  persons. 

B.      FROM    THE   STANDPOINT   OF   SOCIETY 

But  there  is  another  side  of  equal  importance. 
The  welfare  of  society  as  a  whole,  no  less  than 
of  young  men  as  a  class,  demands  serious  thought 
upon  the  situation  and  strenuous  effort  for  its  bet- 
terment. 

One  of  the  marked  phases  of  this  age,  espe- 
cially in  our  own  land,  is  the  increasing  propor- 
tion of  young  men  in  places  of  responsibility. 
On  every  hand  they  are  pressing  rapidly  to  the 
front.  The  rise  of  The  Man  from  Glengarry  from 
a  backwoods  farm  hand  to  the  manager  of  a  large 
industry  and  adviser  in  the  affairs  of  a  new  empire, 
has  many  counterparts  in  real  life.  For  the 
young  man,  eager  to  attain  high  success  in  the 
shortest  possible  time,  this  is  indeed  an  era  of 
golden  opportunities.  With  all  the  outcry  against 
modern  business  methods  as  affording  no  oppor- 
tunity for  individual  progress,  it  is  well  to  remem- 
ber that,  as  said  by  the  editor  of  the  Review  of 
Reviews^  Dr.  Albert  Shaw,  in  a  University  Con- 
vocation address  at  Chicago  in  March,  1902, 
"There  has  never  been  a  time  in  the  history  of  our 
country  when  money  counted  for  so  little  and  the 


8      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

man  for  so  much."  In  support  of  this,  he  cited 
the  facts  that  while  the  rate  of  interest  on  invest- 
ments of  unquestioned  stability  has  never  been 
so  low  (witness  the  recent  refunding  of  a  part  of 
the  debt  of  the  United  States  at  2  per  cent) ,  salaries 
for  men  of  unquestioned  ability  and  integrity  have 
never  been  so  high. 

But  these  great  opportunities  for  young  men 
carry  grave  responsibilities.  It  is  a  truism  that  the 
future  of  the  nation  is  in  their  hands,  and  not  less 
so  a  large  measure  of  its  present.  And  what  they 
do  as  citizens  of  this  great  and  rapidly  growing 
republic  not  only  vitally  affects  its  welfare  but  has 
a  large  and  increasing  part  in  determining  that  of 
the  world  as  well.  Will  they  be  equal  to  the 
task  before  them?  Will  they  so  shape  the  affairs 
of  this  nation — industrial,  commercial,  political, 
educational,  religious,  and  every  other  part  of  its 
many-sided  life,  that  it  shall  not  only  continue 
itself  to  be  blessed  but  in  increasing  measure  to 
be  a  blessing  to  all  mankind? 

The  answer  to  this  question  rests  in  the  last 
analysis  upon  one  qualification  in  the  young  men 
themselves.  As  perhaps  never  before  in  our  his- 
tory, emphasis  is  being  laid  upon  the  physical 
nature.  A  strong  healthy  body  is  more  than  ever 
seen  to  be  not  merely  a  fortunate  possession,  but 
an  absolute  requisite  to  the  highest  success  in 
the  ever  fiercer  struggle  of  life.  The  young  man 
whose  bodily  force  is  in  any  way  impaired  is  seri- 
ously handicapped. 


SPIRITUAL  CONDITION   OF   YOUNG  MEN        Q 

Present  conditions  are  also  demanding  the 
utmost  mental  strength.  The  best  discipline  that 
school  and  college  can  give  is  more  and  more  seen 
to  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  merchant  or  manu- 
facturer or  skilled  artisan,  as  well  as  to  the  pro- 
fessional man.  Young  men  who  have  been  trained 
to  think  clearly,  concisely  and  quickly  are  in 
demand — "none  others  need  apply." 

But  the  chief  qualification  upon  which  the 
answer  to  this  question  depends  is  neither  physical 
nor  intellectual,  though  each  of  these  has  an  im- 
portance which  is  not  likely  to  be  overestimated 
absolutely,  however  much  it  may  be  exaggerated 
relatively.  In  his  Social  Evolution  Mr.  Kidd  has 
clearly  shown  that  the  fundamental  factor  in  deter- 
mining the  permanence  and  progress  of  a  nation 
is  not  material  nor  mental,  else  would  Rome  and 
Athens  have  continued  even  until  now  in  the 
glory  of  their  world-supremacy.  Rather  is  that 
fundamental  factor  moral.  It  was  moral  decay 
that  was  the  bottom  cause  of  the  downfall  of  both 
of  these  proud  nations,  each  of  which  was  in  some 
respects  the  equal  if  not  the  superior  of  our 
own. 

As  with  the  nation  so  with  the  individual 
members.  It  is  not  cash,  nor  craft,  nor  culture, 
but  character  that  in  the  last  analysis,  on  the  whole 
and  in  the  long  run,  determines  the  outcome  of 
life,  decides  the  measure  of  its  real  success.  It  is 
of  the  first  importance  then  that  the  young  men 
upon  whom  are  being  laid  in  ever  larger  meas- 


lO      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ure  such  great  responsibilities  for  the  present  and 
future  of  our  nation,  aye  of  the  world,  shall  be 
fitted  not  only  in  body  and  mind  but  in  heart  and 
soul  as  well  for  the  performance  of  their  great 
tasks. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  welfare  of  our  whole 
social  structure,  equally  with  that  of  young  men 
themselves,  demands  not  only  a  careful  consider- 
ation of  their  condition  but  the  wise  use  of  the 
best  possible  means  for  their  spiritual  betterment 
Herein  lies  the  reason  for  this  study, 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   SPIRITUAL  NATURE  OF  YOUNG  MEN 
A.      THE   SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 

In  recent  years  much  attention  has  been  paid  to 
the  study  of  religious  life  from  the  standpoint  of 
psychology.  To  some  it  has  seemed  but  little 
short  of  sacrilegious  that  the  deepest  experiences 
of  the  human  spirit  should  thus  be  made  the 
object  of  scientific  research.  To  others  it  has 
seemed  to  be  a  limiting  of  the  divine  Spirit  to 
attempt  to  mark  out  the  laws  in  accordance  with 
which  He  works.  Inasmuch  as  this  whole  study 
assumes  the  rightfulness  of  such  research,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  consider  the  question  here. 

Do  spiritual  phenomena  owe  their  existence 
to  forces  no  less  real  than  those  which  underlie 
physical  phenomena,  and  do  these  forces  act, 
equally  with  the  physical,  in  accordance  with  cer- 
tain established  laws?  Is  the  spiritual  realm  a 
chaos  or  a  cosmos?  Is  it  law-less  or  law-ful? 
And  if  a  cosmos,  if  lawful,  what  is  the  nature  of 
its  laws? 

It  is  not  strange  that  some  have  misunderstood 
such  investigations.  It  has  taken  centuries  to 
establish  the  existence  and  determine  the  opera- 
tion of  natural  laws.     To  the  unlearned  mind  the 

II 


12      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

material  world  is  simply  a  chaos  of  events,  with- 
out established  order  of  sequence.  Our  more 
enlightened  conception  of  natural  events  as  hav- 
ing each  its  place  in  a  cosmos,  a  universe  where 
law  reigns,  is  the  heritage  from  many  generations 
of  men  of  science,  who  have  toiled  on  patiently 
in  the  search  for  truth  despite  the  cavils  of  the 
ignorant  and  the  persecutions  of  the  fanatical, 
the  latter  too  often  under  the  false  guise  of  reli- 
gion. And  not  only  do  we  recognize  these  events 
as  happening  in  accordance  with  those  definite 
methods  of  procedure  which  with  unfortunate 
ambiguity  are  called  laws,  as  though  they  were 
similar  to  either  divine  or  human  statutes,  but  we 
see  in  them  the  outward  manifestation  of  indwell- 
ing forces,  which  in  turn  are  but  parts  of  the  divine 
force,  the  Creator  immanent  in  creation. 

From  the  recognized  fact,  established  at  so 
great  a  cost,  that  the  divine  Spirit  works  in  the 
realm  of  nature  according  to  law,  we  should 
reasonably  expect  to  find  that  He  works  likewise 
in  the  realm  of  spirit.  Surely  it  would  be  strange 
if  He  who  through  unknown  centuries  of  orderly 
procedure  has,  by  physical  means  and  in  accord- 
ance with  established  laws,  effected  a  man's  first 
birth  and  provided  for  his  growth  to  the  stature 
of  physical  manhood,  should  not  proceed  likewise 
by  spiritual  means  and  in  accordance  with  estab- 
lished laws  to  effect  his  second  birth  and  provide 
for  his  growth  to  the  stature  of  spiritual  man- 
hood, as  revealed  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth.     To  say 


SPIRITUAL  NATURE   OF   YOUNG   MEN  1 3 

that  he  does  not  so  proceed  is  to  charge  the 
Creator  with  arbitrariness  and  fickleness  worthy  of 
a  petty  despot,  and  to  affirm  that  while  in  the 
lower  realm  of  physical  things  everything  pro- 
ceeds in  an  orderly  fashion,  in  the  spiritual  realm 
there  is  only  the  working  of  chance  and  caprice. 

That  spiritual  phenomena  are  not  the  result 
of  chance  and  caprice,  but  that  the  Creator 
works  in  accordance  with  established  methods 
of  procedure  here  no  less  than  in  the  realm  of 
physical  things,  is  supported  not  merely  by  the 
argument  from  analogy,  as  above,  but  is  affirmed 
by  the  results  of  careful  scientific  investigations, 
such  as  those  recorded  in  Professor  Starbuck's 
Psychology  of  Religion^  and  Professor  Coe's  Spirit- 
ual Life.  There  is  no  sacrilege  in  investigating 
spiritual  facts,  any  *  more  than  in  "considering 
the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow."  There 
is  no  putting  of  limitations  upon  the  divine 
Spirit  in  attempting  to  discover  the  laws  in  ac- 
cordance with  which  He  deals  with  human 
spirits,  anymore  than  in  trying  to  find  out  His 
method  of  procedure  in  causing  the  lily  to 
bloom.  The  soul  and  the  flower  are  alike  the 
workmanship  of  their  Creator,  and  the  better 
understanding  of  the  work  will  in  each  case 
lead  to  a  better  knowledge  of  the  Worker, 
"whom  to  know  aright  is  life  eternal." 

There  are  established  laws,  uniform  methods 
of  procedure,  fixed  sequences  of  cause  and  effect, 
in  the  spiritual  realm  no  less  than  in  the  physical, 


14  THE   CHURCH   AND   YOUNG    MEN 

and  he  who  would  win  the  souls  of  young  men 
must  be  patient  to  discover  and  wise  to  apply 
them.  Here,  as  so  often,  science  renders  large 
service  to  the  cause  of  religion,  and  to  ignore  its 
help  is  little  short  of  criminal.  What  some  of 
these  laws  are  we  now  consider. 

B.    BIRTH 

The  greatest  of  teachers,  who  knew  human 
nature  better  than  any  other  member  of  the  race, 
said  long  ago,  "Except  one  be  born  anew  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  As  the  first 
birth  is  the  prime  requisite  of  physical  life,  so 
is  the  second  birth  the  prime  requisite  of  spirit- 
ual life.  To  it  therefore  attention  is  first 
directed. 

I.  Its  necessity.  The  words  of  the  great  Teacher 
are  sufficient  to  establish  this  and  they  are  worthy 
of  careful  study.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  He  does 
not  say  "may  not"  nor  "shall  not,"  but"can  not." 
He  is  not  laying  down  a  statute,  is  not  making  a 
requirement,  based  on  His  own  or  His  Father's 
authority,  but  is  rather  stating  a  simple  fact  which 
is  due  to  a  spiritual  law,  a  sequence  of  cause 
and  effect,  ingrained  in  the  very  constitution  of 
spiritual  things.  It  is  an  impossibility  that  He 
states,  not  a  prohibition.  The  gardener  puts  a 
seed  into  a  pot  of  earth,  and  in  due  time  he  has 
plant  and  flower.  But  the  earth  did  not  make 
itself  into  the  thing  of  beauty.  Only  as  the  life 
of  the  higher  vegetable  kingdom  within  the  seed 


SPIRITUAL   NATURE   OF   YOUNG   MEN  1 5 

reached  down  into  the  lower  mineral  kingdom 
and  laid  hold  upon  the  earth  and  transformed  it, 
bringing  it  up  into  the  higher  realm,  only  so  did 
the  earth  become  the  flower.  In  a  real  sense  it 
was  "born  anew,"  "born  from  above." 

So  of  the  soul.  In  order  that  one  may  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God  he  must  be  born  anew, 
from  above;  the  higher  life  of  the  divine  Spirit 
must  come  down  into  his  life,  which  another 
great  teacher  has  said  is  by  nature  "dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,"  and,  laying  hold  upon  it,  trans- 
form it  and  bring  it  up  into  the  higher  spiritual 
kingdom.  Otherwise,  it  is  no  more  possible  for 
him  to  enter  that  higher  kingdom  than  for  the 
earth  to  become  the  flower  without  the  seed. 
This  is  the  first  law  of  spiritual  life.* 

2.  How  it  comes.  The  new  birth  comes  to 
pass  in  two  ways.  The  first  is  through  a  crisis, 
a  definite  and  often  sudden  and  highly  emotional 
experience,  in  which  the  spirit  is  keenly  con- 
scious of  passing  from  death  unto  life.  The 
second  is  rather  a  process,  covering  months  and 
even  years,  at  the  end  of  which  the  spirit  is  no 
less  fully  assured  of  its  new  life  than  in  the  former 
case,  though  unable  to  point  to  any  definite  time 
of  transition. 

The  failure  to  recognize  this  second  method 
as  the  work  of  the  divine  Spirit  equally  with 
the  first,  and  hence  equally  efficacious,   has  been 

>  Drummond:    Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World,  chapter  on 
Biogenesis. 


l6      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

a  source  of  untold  disappointment  to  many 
young  men,  who  have  earnestly  sought  the  new 
life  but  believed  themselves  lost  because  of  not 
having  had  the  definite  crisis  which  they  have 
been  wrongly  taught  to  regard  as  a  prerequisite 
to  salvation.  Supposing  God  to  be  shut  up  to 
a  single  line  of  action  in  effecting  their  new  birth, 
they  have  supposed  themselves  shut  out  of  His 
kingdom.  Nor  is  the  mode  of  procedure  in 
either  case  by  any  means  uniform.  There  is 
infinite  variety  in  human  spirits,  and  the  divine 
Spirit,  with  a  wisdom  too  often  lacking  in  those 
who  would  win  young  men  to  His  service,  has 
regard  to  those  variations  and  employs  in  each 
case  the  means  best  adapted  to  secure  the  end. 

There  are,  however,  certain  general  conditions 
to  be  observed  as  essential  to  the  new  birth  of  the 
spirit  no  less  than  in  the  new  birth  of  the  plant. 
These  may  be  classed  as  primary  and  secondary. 

i)  Primary  conditions.  These  are  expressed  in 
the  familiar  terms,  repentance  and  faith.  Re- 
pentance means  more  than  tears.  Indeed  it  does 
not  necessarily  involve  tears  at  all,  nor  do  they 
necessarily  indicate  true  repentance.  It  is  a 
complete  reversal  of  purpose,  a  turning  square 
about  in  the  pathway  of  life,  a  positive  abandon- 
ment of  a  previous  sinward  course  for  one  that  is 
Godward.  Faith  is  far  more  than  mere  intellect- 
ual assent  to  certain  religious  statements;  it  in- 
volves more  than  the  signing  of  a  creed,  no 
matter  how  long  or  orthodox.     There  must  be 


OF 

CALlFQHli^ 


SPIRITUAL   NATURE    OF   YOUNG   MEN         1 7 

not  only  a  trust  in  Christ  as  Saviour,  but  an 
obedience  to  Christ  as  Sovereign.  These  are  the 
primary  conditions,  the  fulfillment  of  which  by 
the  human  spirit  insures  the  action  of  the  divine 
Spirit  in  effecting  its  new  birth,  whereby  it  passes 
from  a  state  of  death  in  sin  to  life  in  God,  This 
is  the  second  law  of  spiritual  life  and  it  is  the 
complement  of  the  first. 

2)  Secondary  conditicms.  These  are  of  high 
value  as  favoring  the  new  spiritual  birth,  though 
not  absolutely  essential,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
foregoing.  The  exhaustive  investigations  of  Pro- 
fessors Starbuck  and  Coe  and  others  render  large 
service  in  this  connection.  Their  work  has  beeh, 
by  the  study  of  thousands  of  cases  of  young 
men,  and  others  as  well,  to  discover  the  human 
conditions  which  favor  the  efficient  operation 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  and  to  formulate  the  results 
of  their  investigations  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
guide  workers  in  the  realm  of  spiritual  things. 
There  is  space  here  for  but  brief  mention  of  one 
or  two  of  the  most  important  of  their  conclu- 
sions. 

{\)  Age,  Long  ago  a  wise  man  said,  "Remem- 
ber also  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth," 
and  these  studies  have  emphasized  the  wisdom 
of  so  doing.  "Conversion  does  not  occur  with 
the  same  frequency  at  all  periods  in  life.  It  be- 
longs almost  exclusively  to  the  years  between  ten 
and  twenty-five.  The  number  of  instances  out- 
side of  that  range  are  few  and  scattered.     That 


/ 


1 8      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

is,  conversion  is  a  distinctly  adolescent  phe- 
nomenon. It  is  a  singular  fact  also  that  within 
this  period  the  conversions  do  not  distribute 
themselves  equally  among  the  years.  In  the  rough 
we  may  say  that  they  begin  to  occur  at  seven 
and  eight  years,  increase  in  number  gradually  to 
ten  or  eleven  and  then  rapidly  to  sixteen,  rapidly 
decline  to  twenty  and  gradually  fall  away  after 
that,  and  become  rare  after  thirty.  One  may 
say  that  if  conversion  has  not  occurred  before 
twenty  the  chances  are  small  that  it  will  ever  be 
experienced."*  Out  of  254  men  83  per  cent 
were  converted  at  the  ages  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
inclusive,  distributed  as  follows:* 
Age:  10  II  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20 
Ratio:  .03  .03  .05  .04  .09  .12  .13  .11  .10  .09  .04 
Professor  Coe  tabulates  1,784  cases  of  conver- 
sion of  men,  the  average  age  being  16.4  years.' 

(2)  Physical  and  mental  changes.  This  is  also 
the  time  at  which  other  great  changes  occur. 
Speaking  of  the  years  just  prior  to  and  including 
sixteen.  Professor  Coe  says:  "There  takes  place 
a  transformation  more  profound  than  any  other 
between  birth  and  death.  ...  In  many  ways 
this  is  undoubtedly  the  most  critical  period  in 
the  whole  development  of  the  individual.  .  .  . 
The  mental  development  during  this  period  is 
distinctly  correlated  with  the  physical."*  This 
does  not  at  all  mean  that   the  new  birth  of  the 

»  The  Psychology  of  Religion^  p.  28.       *  Same,  p.  29. 
»  The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  45.         «  Same,  pp.  33,  35. 


SPIRITUAL  NATURE   OF   YOUNG   MEN         I9 

physical  and  intellectual  natures  in  any  way 
produce  the  new  birth  of  the  spiritual  nature, 
but  rather  that  at  the  same  time  the  conditions 
are  most  favorable  to  its  occurrence.  "There  is 
a  normal  period  somewhere  between  the  inno- 
cence of  childhood  and  the  fixed  habits  of  ma- 
turity, while  the  person  is  yet  impressionable 
and  has  already  capacity  for  spiritual  insight, 
when  conversions  most  frequently  occur. "^  The 
reasons  for  this  it  is  aside  from  our  purpose  to 
consider,  nor  is  it  necessary  in  view  of  their 
treatment  in  these  books,  which  deserve  to  be 
studied  by  all  who  deal  with  the  problems  of 
spiritual  life. 

It  is  sufficient  here  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  in  the  first  few  years  of  the  period  of 
life  chosen  for  this  study,  the  young  man  is  at 
the  age  where  his  conversion  is  most  likely  to 
occur.  After  this  the  chances  are  very  meager. 
This  does  not  mean  that  any  man,  young  or  old, 
is  ever  to  be  wholly  despaired  of,  for  even  octo- 
genarian conversions  have  occurred.  But  it  does 
mean  that  the  early  years  of  a  young  man's  life 
are  a  time  of  golden  opportunity  for  his  experi- 
encing the  new  birth.  This  is  the  spiritual  "tide 
in  the  affairs  of  men,  which,  taken  at  its  flood, 
leads  on  to  fortune,"  a  spiritual  fortune  of  in- 
estimable worth.  In  all  human  probability  he  will 
come  into  its  possession  now  or  never. 

»  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  36. 


20     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 
C.  GROWTH 

The  great  Teacher's  greatest  apostle  has  said 
that  the  destiny  of  the  human  soul  is  "to  be 
conformed  to  the  image  of  God's  son."  Birth 
must  therefore  be  followed  by  growth.  Here, 
as  before,  first  place  must  be  given  to  the  oper- 
ations of  the  divine  Spirit.  Only  the  power 
that  gives  the  new  life  can  sustain  it.  Men  used 
to  think  that  the  Creator  somehow  wound  up  the 
material  universe  and  then  set  it  spinning  as  a 
boy  does  his  top,  and  that  He  put  enough  force 
into  it  to  keep  it  going  while  He  looked  on  or 
turned  to  other  affairs.  But  now  the  very  science 
which  has  been  misused  to  banish  the  Creator 
proclaims  His  existence  in  the  whole  creation, 
the  ever-present  source  of  all  life.  So  of  the 
human  spirit  in  its  new  life.  Born  of  the  divine 
Spirit,  its  existence  and  growth  are  not  apart  from 
Him  but  depend  upon  a  vital  union  with  Him,  so 
intimate  as  to  be  spoken  of  by  the  great  Teacher 
as  a  veritable  abiding  in  Him,  like  that  of  the, 
branch  in  the  vine,  each  a  very  part  of  the 
other. 

But  here,  as  before,  there  are  also  certain 
human  conditions  involved  which  have  an  impor- 
tant bearing,  and  in  this  connection  also  the  in- 
vestigations of  Professors  Starbuck  and  Coe 
render  important  service.  Here,  too,  but  brief 
mention  can  be  made  of  their  conclusions,  all  of 
which  will  repay  careful  study. 

The  characteristics  peculiar  to  young  manhood 


SPIRITUAL  NATURE   OF  YOUNG    MEN         21 

may  be  classified   as  physiological  and  psycho- 
logical. 

I.  Physiological  characteristics.  "It  has  long  \y 
been  recognized  that  the  beginning  of  adolescence 
is  a  period  of  rapid  physiological  transformations. 
The  voice  changes,  the  beard  sprouts,  the  propor- 
tions of  the  head  are  altered,  the  volume  of  the 
heart  increases  while  that  of  the  arteries  is  dimin- 
ished, so  that  the  blood  pressure  is  heightened, 
and  central  among  the  changes  are  those  in  the 
reproductive  system,  which  make  the  child  into 
the  man."^  The  last  named  alone  can  have  more 
than  bare  mention  and  its  [importance  must  over- 
ride its  unpleasantness.  The  same  author,  refer- 
ring to  extensive  investigation,  says:  "About 
one-third  of  the  males  gave  sexual  temptations 
as  among  those  of  youth,  and  nearly  always  it  was 
said  to  be  the  chief  temptation.**  *  And  Professor 
Coe  adds:  "It  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  most 
serious  source  of  religious  difficulty  for  adolescent 
males  lies  precisely  in  sexual  irritability."  '  The 
spiritual  ruin  of  multitudes  of  young  men  has  been 
and  is  being  wrought  by  the  abuse  of  this  phys- 
ical power,  due  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  to 
the  criminal  negligence  of  fathers  to  instruct  their 
sons. 

"There  can  be  few  greater  unkindnesses  to  a 
youth  than  to  permit  him  to  meet  and  deal  with 
the  profoundest  fact  of  his  physical  being  without 

»  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  37.       •  Same,  p.  70. 
»  The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  95. 


22      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ever  having  received  from  a  pure  and  authorita- 
tive source  a  single  item  of  information  regarding 
it."*  He  will  be  sure  to  get  it  somehow,  and  if 
not  from  pure  then  from  vicious  sources,  that  are 
only  too  ready  to  pollute  his  mind  and  inflame  his 
passions.  Alcohol  and  nicotine  have  slain  their 
thousands,  but  this  demon  has  slain  his  tens  of 
thousands,  though  usually  under  more  polite 
names.  Pastors,  teachers,  and  all  who  have  any 
concern  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  young  men 
should  not  hesitate  to  have  frank  and  fearless 
but  always  tactful  and  sympathetic  counsel  with 
them.  "We  can  do  them  no  better  service," 
writes  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  sec- 
retary of  long  experience,  "next  to  leading  them 
to  definitely  accept  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour." 

In  the  Bibliography  the  titles  of  a  few  trust- 
worthy books  upon  this  important  matter  are  given. 
A  thorough  knowledge  of  these  facts  and  a  wise 
use  of  that  knowledge  will  go  far  toward  helping 
young  men  in  their  growth  to  spiritual  manhood. 
2.  Psychological  characteristics.  These  early  years 
/  of  young  manhood  are  also  marked  by  mental 
and  spiritual  transformations.  The  newly  devel- 
oped mental  powers  assert  themselves  by  boldly 
challenging  all  ideas  previously  held.  It  is  a  time 
of  doubt,  honest  doubt,  when  the  mind  is  eager 
and  restless  in  its  search  for  absolute  truth. 
Religious  beliefs  do  not  escape  its  keen  search- 
ing.    For  a  spiritual  adviser  to  seek  to  suppress 

»  The  spiritual  Life,  p.  34. 


SPIRITUAL  NATURE   OF   YOUNG  MEN         23 

such  questionings  as  the  suggestions  of  Satan  is 
fatal.  If  successful,  the  result  will  be  the  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  stagnation  of  the  seeker  for 
truth;  if  otherwise,  the  result  will  likely  be  not 
only  the  rejection  of  the  adviser  and  the  end  of 
his  influence  in  that  quarter,  but  the  hardening  of 
an  honest  inquirer  into  a  confirmed  skeptic. 

More  than  any  other  period  of  life  this  is  a 
time  of  unrest,  both  of  mind  and  spirit.  Doubt 
and  certainty,  depression  and  exaltation,  fear  and 
hope,  remorse  and  joy — a  score  of  conflicting 
emotions  are  constantly  coming  and  going,  to  the 
often  utter  bewilderment  of  the  inexperienced 
youth. 

Such  are  some  of  the  physical  and  mental 
problems  vitally  connected  with  spiritual  growth, 
that  must  be  not  only  recognized  but  studied  and 
mastered  by  all  who  would  be  of  the  largest 
possible  service  to  young  men  in  the  development 
of  this  highest  realm  of  their  nature.  Wise  indeed 
must  be  the  guide  who  would  lead  them  safely 
through  these  trying  years.  No  knowledge  can 
be  too  high,  no  sympathy  too  broad,  no  personal  f 
spiritual  life  too  deep  for  this  divine  task.  ^ 

Since  the  larger  part  of  the  following  pages 
will  be  taken  up  with  the  discussion  of  practical 
measures  for  promoting  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
young  men,  the  foregoing  will  suffice  for  a  con- 
sideration of  some  of  the  fundamental  principles 
involved.  What  has  been  said  will  also  suffice 
to  show  that  they  are  in  error  who  say  that  there 


^ 


24      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

is  no  "young  man  problem"  in  church  work.  It 
is  of  course  true,  as  they  claim,  that  in  its  general 
characteristics  human  nature  is  much  the  same 
in  all  persons,  and  that  likewise  the  great  princi- 
ples of  religion  are  the  same  for  all.  But,  as  briefly 
indicated,  young  men  have  some  special  charac- 
teristics possessed  by  no  others,  and  this  fact 
makes  it  not  only  highly  advantageous,  but  also 
absolutely  necessary  for  achieving  the  largest  suc- 
cess that  some  special  agencies  be  employed  for 
the  application  of  those  principles  to  their  needs. 

D.    STANDARDS   OF  JUDGMENT 

What  has  been  presented  in  these  opening  chap- 
ters will  indicate  the  standards  by  which  the  value 
of  the  methods  discussed  in  the  following  ones  are 
to  be  judged.  The  spiritual  betterment  of  young 
men  includes  just  two  things:  (i)  their  new  birth 
into  the  kingdom  of  God  through  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  in  connection  with  their  own  re- 
pentance and  faith  in  Christ;  (2)  their  growth  in 
likeness  to  Him,  "unto  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  In  proportion  as  any 
method  promotes  either  of  these  it  is  good. 
Whereinsoever  it  fails  so  to  do,  either  through  lack 
of  primary  regard  to  these  ends  or  by  over-mag- 
nifying the  means  employed  at  the  expense  of 
the  ends  to  be  attained,  it  needs  correction.  If 
it  fails  completely,  or  is  even  a  hindrance  to  spir- 
itual life,  it  is  "salt  that  has  lost  its  savor* '  and  de- 
serves only  "to  be  cast  out  and  trodden  under  foot." 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  CHURCH  PROPER 

This  somewhat  awkward  but  convenient  title  is 
meant  to  cover  the  ordinary  activities  of  a  church 
as  distinguished  from  its  various  departments, 
which  will  be  considered  in  subsequent  chapters. 
By  way  of  introduction,  attention  will  first  be  given 
to  the  well-worn  but  nevertheless  vital  question, 
"Why  do  not  young  men  go  to  church?'*' 

A.    ANSWERS  TO   THIS   QUESTION 

It  is  easy  to  reply  that  they  do  go  to  church, 
and  it  is  indeed  true  that,  as  shown  in  the  first 
chapter,  several  millions  of  them  are  church  attend- 
ants to  at  least  some  extent.  But  that  fully 
half  of  them  very  seldom  if  ever  cross  the  thresh- 
olds of  church  buildings  is  equally  true,  and  it  is 
worth  patient  study  to  discover  if  possible  the 
reasons  for  this  condition,  that  is  both  unfortunate 
and  perilous,  whether  considered  from  the  stand- 
point of  their  own  welfare  or  that  of  society  as 
a  whole.  In  order  to  get  fresh  information  at 
first  hand,  the  question,  "Why  are  there  not 
more  young  men  in  the  churches?"  was  printed  on 
the  schedules  sent  to  pastors  and  also  on  those  sent 
to  young  men.  Replies  were  received  from  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  of  each,  and  the  more 

important  ones  are  here  given. 

..< .1 

>  See  The  Young  Men  and  the  Churches. 
25 


26      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

I.  Pastors.  Thirty-two  laid  the  blame  upon  the 
young  men  themselves,  for  example:  "Indif- 
ference; lack  of  conviction;  impurity  of  thought 
and  life;  consciousness  of  being  in  the  wrong; 
pleasure  put  above  duty;  unworthy  aims  and  lives 
in  conflict  with  the  principles  of  Christianity; 
moral  gravitation  the  devil's  way;  honest  preach- 
•  ing  produces  conviction  of  sin,  which  is  uncom- 
jfortable;  desire  to  sow  wild  oats;  enmity  of  heart 
to  divine  things."  These  are  not  mere  cavils; 
they  are  simple  statements  of  twentieth  century 
facts  in  line  with  the  first  century  words  that  "the 
mind  of  the  flesh  is  enmity  against  God."  This 
is  unquestionably  the  primary  reason  why  fully 
half  of  the  young  men  of  our  land  are  entirely  out 
of  church  fellowship  or  direct  influence.  They 
could  be  in  church  fellowship,  and  would  be  if 
they  really  wanted  to  be.  Not  only  in  this  dis- 
cussion but  in  all  that  follows  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  chief  reason  why  there  are  not 
more  young  men  in  the  churches  is  simply  because 
they  prefer  to  be  outside.  But  the  existence  of 
this  preference  does  not  in  the  least  excuse  the 
churches  from  making  the  utmost  effort  and  using 
all  wise  means  to  correct  it. 

Twenty-two  pastors  find  the  reasons  in  the 
counter-attractions  and  temptations  of  the  world. 
This  explanation  is  closely  akin  to  the  preceding, 
being  based  on  the  universal  fact  of  sin. 

Twelve  find  the  cause  in  the  social  conditions 
of  modern  life,  for  example:    "Young  men  are  so 


THE   CHURCH   PROPER  27 

driven  by  over-work  during  the  week,  especially 
clerks  on  Saturday  nights,  that  they  fail  to  attend 
church  services  through  sheer  weariness  and  so 
drift  away;  Sunday  newspapers;  Sunday  excur- 
sions; Sunday  desecration;  the  generally  irreligious 
age;  the  intensely  practical  spirit  of  the  day, 
crowding  out  the  Christian  life;  general  unrest 
in  religious  affairs.*' 

Forty  lay  the  blame  upon  the  churches:  "Too 
conservative — afraid  to  leave  old  customs;  failure 
to  win  and  hold  them  as  boys;  not  alive;  defi- 
cient in  spiritual  power;  harpooning  instead  of 
angling;  lack  of  manly  business  methods;  dis- 
sected Christianity,  that  is,  sectarianism;  wor-  v 
ship  too  stiff  and  dry;  lack  of  sympathy  on  the 
part  of  older  persons;  not  willing  to  sacrifice  to 
get  them;  have  not  worked  for  them." 

Seventeen  are  frank  enough  to  recognize  defi- 
ciencies in  their  preaching,  or  possibly  that  of 
other  pastors:  "Old  theology  and  the  'oh,  to  be 
nothing'  spirit;  not  enough  appeal  to  the  heroic; 
lack  of  masculine  conception  of  religion  and  too 
great  emphasis  on  the  feminine;*  it  is  a  practical 
age  and  ministers  will  insist  on  preaching  theology 
when  men  want  life;  preaching  not  direct  and 
attractive;  a  system  of  prohibitions  is  taught  to  the 
exclusion  of  Christ;  failure  to  meet  honestly  the 
current  objections  to  the  Bible;  lack  of  present- 
day  thought."  One  reply  is  especially  valuable: 
"Young  men  have  not  been  taught  that  religion 

»  The  Spiritual  Life,  Chapter  V. 


V 


28      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

is  an  inward  spiritual  force  which  is  to  be  applied 
to  every  problem  and  in  every  avenue  of  life.  It 
is  primarily  not  a  thing  of  the  intellect  but  of  the 
will — the  will  to  be  and  to  do  according  to  God*s 
good  pleasure  in  all  things." 

Fourteen  cite  lax  home  training  and  the  ab- 
sence of  fathers  from  church  services;  three  con- 
fess that  some  pastors  are  not  manly  enough  and 
are  ignorant  of  young  men's  habits  of  thought, 
temptations,  and  better  impulses;  while  a  solitary 
one  thinks  the  Young  Men*s  Christian  Association 
is  to  blame. 

In  this  connection  the  words  of  Dr.  Josiah 
Strong  are  of  interest:  "There  is  not  enough  of 
effort,  of  struggle,  in  the  typical  church  life  of 
to-day  to  win  young  men  to  the  church.  A  'flowery 
bed  of  ease'  does  not  appeal  to  a  fellow  who  has 
any  manhood  in  him.  The  prevailing  type  of  relig- 
ion is  too  utterly  comfortable  to  attract  young 
men  who  love  the  heroic.  Eliminate  heroism 
from  religion  and  it  becomes  weak,  effeminate.  .  . 
When  service  comes  to  mean  human  helpfulness, 
there  will  be  more  young  men  to  fill  empty  pews 
with  devout  worshipers.  .  .  .  Love,  expressing 
itself  in  an  enthusiasm  of  service  and  sacrifice, 
is  always  powerful  to  convince  and  to  attract."  * 

2.  Young  men.  Turning  to  the  replies  from 
young  men  to  this  and  a  similar  question,  it  is 
significant  that  much  the  greater  number  lay  the 
blame  upon  the  young  men  themselves,  or  one 

*  Th4  Times  and  Young  Men ^  pp.  179-181. 


THE   CHURCH    PROPER  29 

hundred  and  ten  out  of  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
four.  The  reasons  given  were  substantially  those 
given  in  this  class  by  the  pastors,  as  noted  under 
(i),  and  do  not  need  repetition. 

Forty-three  put  the  blame  on  worldly  attrac- 
tions, and  seventeen  on  social  conditions;  for 
example:  "The  prevalence  of  the  iron  rule  instead 
of  the  golden  rule  in  business;  popular  skepti- 
cism," due  to  half-digested  thought." 

Seventy-two  put  the  blame  on  the  churches  or 
their  members,  assigning,  in  addition  to  those 
previously  given,  such  reasons  as:  "The  incon- 
sistent lives  of  professing  Christians;  ignorance  of 
the  Bible  by  church  members;  chaotic  ideas  as 
to  what  is  vital  in  Christianity — a  transition  period 
in  theology;  the  church  does  not  keep  young  men 
interested  by  giving  them  definite  work  to  do; 
and  the  belief  of  working  men  that  the  churches 
are  concerned  only  with  the  next  world,  ignoring 
the  pressing  problems  of  the  present  life.*' 

Forty-two  find  the  fault  in  preaching,  assign- 
ing these  additional  instances:  "Not  alive  to 
present-day  social  conditions;  higher  criticism; 
preachers  don't  'give  reasons  for  the  faith  that 
is  in  them';  lack  of  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
lack  of  definite  gospel  preaching  and  the  clear 
presentation  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Fifteen  charge  lax  home  training  and  bad  pater- 
nal example,  and  one  "can't  stand  present 
creeds." 

3.  Summary,     These  replies,  both  from  pastors 


30      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

and  young  men,  are  worth  careful  study.  They 
are  from  men  who  are  deeply  interested  in  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  young  men,  or  they  would  not 
have  taken  the  time  and  pains  requisite  to  fill  out 
blanks  containing  one  over  thirty  and  the  other 
nearly  fifty  questions.  They  fall,  in  a  rough  class- 
ification, into  three  sets,  according  as  they  find  the 
reason  why  at  least  half  of  our  young  men  very 
seldom  if  ever  attend  church  services  of  any  kind 
»to  lie  in  their  own  faults,  the  faults  of  society  at 
large,  or  the  faults  of  the  church.  It  is  a  dis- 
tinct advantage  to  have  made  this  diagnosis,  but 
this  does  not  solve  the  problem,  any  more  than 
the  patient  is  cured  when  the  physician  has  dis- 
covered the  exact  nature  of  his  trouble.  Here, 
at  least,  knowledge  for  its  own  sake  is  of  little 
value.  If  this  study  is  to  be  of  real  worth  its 
results  must  be  used  in  bettering  the  condition 
whose  causes  have  been  discovered.  We  must 
now,  therefore,  turn  from  diagnosis  to  treatment, 
from  dealing  with  what  is,  to  considering  how  to 
bring  to  pass  what  ought  to  be. 

There  is  one  sovereign  specific  for  all  human 
woe,  whether  it  be  individual  or  social,  and  that 
is  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  has  in  it  suffi- 
cient power  to  correct  and  heal  all  these  faults 
of  young  men  that  hold  them  aloof  from  church 
fellowship,  and  equally  so  the  faults  of  society 
and  the  church  itself  that  hinder  their  coming  in. 
The  only  question  is  as  to  what  agencies  shall 
be  employed  in  order  that  this  healing  power  shalJ 


THE   CHURCH    PROPER  3 1 

be  most  effectively  applied.  This  is  the  practical 
problem  to  the  solution  of  which,  so  far  as  it  con- 
cerns young  men,  it  is  hoped  that  this  study  may 
furnish  some  contribution. 

The  agencies  to  be  considered  in  this  chapter 
are  the  pastor,  preaching,  public  worship,  and  the 
prayer-meeting. 

B.    THE   PASTOR 

Not  only  because  the  pastor  is,  under  the  great 
Head  of  the  universal  church,  the  head  of  the  local 
church,  but  also  because  as  its  chief  official  he  is 
its  chief  representative  before  the  community  at 
large,  he  is  first  considered  among  the  varied 
agencies  for  the  spiritual  betterment  of  young 
men. 

"A  parson,  but  a  man"  was  the  suggestive  epi- 
taph on  the  tombstone  of  a  cow-boy  preacher.^ 
There  is  no  person  whose  real  success  in  his  work 
depends  more  upon  his  genuine  manliness  than 
he  who  seeks  to  promote  the  spiritual  life  of 
young  men.  Neither  is  there  any  calling  in  which 
the  lack  of  it  is  so  fatal.  There  is  no  place  where 
weakness  or  effeminacy  of  any  sort  are  less  endur- 
able than  in  the  Christian  ministry.  The  pastor 
must  be  a  man  among  men,  must  be  like  Paul  in 
"becoming  all  things  to  all  men,"  if  he  is  to  have 
their  fullest  friendship  and  confidence,  if  he  is 
to  have  the  largest  influence  with  them.  This 
is  especially  true  in  the  case  of  young  men.     A 

^Problems  of  the  Town  Church,  p.  128. 


32      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

cordial  interest  in  their  daily  work,  of  which  some 
practical  knowledge  will  be  valuable;  a  sharing, 
if  possible,  in  their  recreations,  both  social  and 
athletic;  an  understanding  of  and  a  manly  sym- 
pathy (not  tears!)  with  them  in  their  struggles  with 
sin;  if  in  these  and  all  other  possible  ways  the 
pastor  will  prove  himself  a  genuine  brother  man 
and  not  merely  a  member  of  "the  clerical  sex," 
the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  church  and 
young  men  will  be  greatly  furthered.^ 

Young  men  admire  genuine  manliness  as 
heartily  as  they  despise  sham  and  effeminacy,  and 
the  pastor  who  gives  clear  proof  of  having  an 
abundance  of  the  former  and  no  trace  of  the  latter 
will  be  sure  to  have  a  large  personal  following 
among  them.  And  it  is  very  certain,  on  the 
whole,  that  if  he  has  no  following  as  a  man,  no 
hold  upon  their  hearts  as  a  brother,  he  will  have 
little  or  no  influence  in  promoting  that  for 
which  as  a  faithful  servant  of  God  he  longs  most 
of  all,  their  spiritual  birth  and  growth. 

Young  men  demand  too,  and  rightly,  that  he 
shall  give  evidence  in  his  own  daily  living  of  the 
power  of  the  religion  which  he  commends  to  them. 
They  may  enjoy  his  comradeship  as  a  hail-fellow- 
well-met  and  appreciate  his  helpfulness  as  a 
brother  in  a  thousand  ways,  but  if  in  his  busi- 
ness dealings,  or  in  his  social  relationships,  or 
in  any  other  way  they  see  a  lower  standard  of 
living  on  week-days  than  he  commends  to  them 

*  The  Young  Man  and  the  Church,  p.  26. 


THE  CHURCH   PROPER  33 

on  Sundays,  they  will  secretly  despise  him  as  a 
spiritual  guide  and  reject  not  only  himself  but 
his  Christ.  The  manliness  of  the  Man  of  Galilee 
must  be  not  only  heard  in  his  message  but  man- 
ifest in  his  life.  He  preaches  a  Christ  incarnate 
in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  living  nineteen  centuries 
ago,  but  it  will  have  little  effect  save  as  he  reveals 
the  same  Christ  incarnate  in  himself,  living 
among  men  to-day. 

These  things  of  course  are  true  of  all  classes  of 
people  with  whom  the  pastor  has  dealings,  but 
they  have  the  greatest  force  in  the  case  of  young 
men,  for  none  are  so  keen  in  their  observa- 
tions or  so  unsparing  in  their  judgment.  He  who 
would  win  them  to  his  Master  will  daily  need 
to  remember  the  words  of  Dr.  Watts: 

'  'So  let  our  lips  and  lives  express 
The  holy  gospel  we  profess; 
Thus  shall  we  best  proclaim  abroad 
The  honors  of  our  Saviour,  God." 

C.    PREACHING 

The  pastor  is  differentiated  from  his  fellow 
believers  by  his  function  as  a  preacher.  He 
works  with  them  but  he  preaches  to  them.  He  is 
the  modern  prophet  of  Jehovah,  the  successor 
of  Elijah  and  Isaiah,  receiving  messages  from 
God  and  imparting  them  to  the  people.  He  is 
the  herald  of  the  Cross,  true  successor  of  the 
apostles.  What  message  does  he  have  for  young 
men,   and  how  may    it  best   be   suited   to  their 


34      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

needs  in  order  to  be  effective  to  the  highest  de- 
gree in  promoting  their  spiritual  welfare? 

It  is  easy  to  say  that  he  is  to  preach  the  simple 
gospel,  but  the  gospel  is  no  simple  affair.  Its 
immeasurable  heights  and  depths  and  breadths 
are  not  so  readily  compassed  nor  so  easily 
brought  within  human  comprehension  as  the 
ready  users  of  this  current  phrase  seem  to  think. 
Moreover  it  is  by  no  means  a  light  task  so  to  pre- 
sent that  gospel  that  all  men,  that  all  young  men 
in  particular,  shall  see  in  it  the  sole  remedy  for 
sin,  the  divine  solution  of  all  the  vexed  prob- 
lems of  an  ever-changing  life.  For  the  gospel 
is  precisely  that  remedy  and  that  solution.  It 
has  to  do  with  the  life  that  now  is  not  merely  as 
a  preparation  for  an  eternity  that  is  to  come,  of 
which  Jesus  had  comparatively  very  [little  to  say, 
but  vastly  more  does  it  have  to  do  with  the  pres- 
ent life  as  a  part  of  an  eternity  already  begun, 
of  which  He  said  a  great  deal.  If  the  preacher's 
message  is  to  win  and  hold  young  men,  he  must 
not  try  to  soothe  their  troubled  spirits  simply 
by  assurances  of  a  better  life  where  there  will 
be  no  trouble.  He  must  preach  not  simply  a 
far-away  Christ  into  whose  visible  presence  they 
will  some  day  enter.  He  must  preach  also  a 
present  Christ,  in  whose  invisible  but  none  the  less 
real  presence  they  are  now,  and  who  is  just  as  able 
and  just  as  ready  to  help  them  bear  the  burdens 
and  solve  the  problems  of  the  life  that  now  is  as 
when  He  "became  flesh  and  dwelt  among  men." 


THE   CHURCH   PROPER  35 

Christ  is  made  too  much  a  dweller  on  the 
mountain-top,  with  whom  men  can  hold  fellow- 
ship only  on  Sundays  and  in  the  meeting-house. 
He  is  made  too  much  an  ethereal  sort  of  being 
who  is  concerned  only  with  what  we  term  our 
distinctly  spiritual  natures.  But  He  was  neither 
of  these  in  Palestine  nineteen  centuries  ago,  and 
He  is  neither  of  these  in  the  United  States  to- 
day. Occasional  mountain-top  fellowship  is 
blessed,  but  of  far  greater  value  is  the  fellowship 
that  He  grants  every  hour  along  the  highways 
and  byways  of  life.  Spiritual  ministries  are 
blessed,  but  so  also  are  His  ministries  to  temporal 
needs,  and  these  He  is  just  as  ready  to  grant  as 
when  He  fed  the  hungry  thousands  or  gave  good 
success  to  the  disciples  who  had  fished  all  night 
and  caught  nothing.  Young  men  need  to  know 
not  less  of  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Sovereign,  but 
more  of  Him  as  an  Elder  Brother,  strong,  loving 
and  compassionate,  an  ever  present  helper  in  all 
the  affairs  of  life,  physical  and  temporal  no  less 
than  spiritual  and  eternal. 

As  Christ  is  concerned  for  all  that  concerns 
a  young  man's  life,  so  must  the  preacher  be 
who  would  win  them  to  his  Master.  Here  is 
justification  of  the  demand  that  the  preacher  be 
a  student  of  social  problems.  Dr.  Cortland 
Myers,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Temple  in  Brook- 
lyn, says:  "The  minister's  education  is  defect- 
ive who  believes  that  his  vocation  is  purely 
spiritual,  and  that  he  has  no  duty  to  perform   in 


36      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

the  improvement  of  the  present  world.  His  spe- 
cial business  is  to  save  souls,  but  one  of  the  chan- 
nels for  the  accomplishment  of  this  purpose  may- 
be the  solution  of  economic  and  political  prob- 
lems. If  he  studies  his  Bible  one  hour  he  might 
profitably  take  one-half  of  that  hour  in  studying 
its  application  to  the  great  social  issues  of  the 
day.  He  might  as  well  build  his  church  around 
the  north  pole  and  write  his  sermons  with  the 
point  of  an  icicle,  if  he  does  not  enter  into  the 
wrongs  and  sorrows  of  the  poor,  and  also  into  the 
justification  of  the  righteous  rich."^ 

In  order  to  get  help  for  the  practical  side  of 
this  problem,  this  question  was  on  the  schedule 
sent  to  the  pastors:  "What  types  of  thought 
are  most  effective  in  preaching  to  young  men?" 
By  far  the  largest  number  of  replies,  thirty-five, 
were  "practical*';  fifteen,  "evangelistic";  four- 
teen, "heroic";  ten,  "moral";  ten,  "illustrative"; 
nine,  "Biblical'*;  six,  "direct  appeal."  This  and 
a  similar  question  were  on  the  schedules  sent  to 
young  men,  and  over  a  hundred  replies  were  re- 
ceived, as  follows:  forty-two,  "practical";  thirty- 
four,  "gospel";  twenty-four,  "Biblical";  ten, 
"life  and  works  of  Christ";  while  only  one  called 
for  "new  theology." 

It  is  significant  that  the  greater  number  of  these 
replies  favored  sermons  distinctly  scriptural, 
practical  themes  coming  a  close  second,  and  the 
two  making  up  nearly  the  whole  number.     Com- 

»  Why  Men  Do  Not  Go  to  Church,  p.  71. 


THE   CHURCH    PROPER  2>7 

billing  them,  it  may  be  said  that  the  preaching 
which  is  most  effective  in  the  spiritual  betterment 
of  young  men  is  that  which  brings  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Bible  to  bear  upon  the  problems  of 
every-day  life;  which  makes  it  not  simply  a  book 
of  ancient  history  and  literature  but  a  living  mes- 
sage to  living  men  from  a  living  God,  who  is  just 
as  much  concerned  for  their  welfare  to-day  as  for 
that  of  Moses  and  David  and  Paul  centuries  ago. 
Manly  preaching  of  this  sort  will  do  more  to  fill 
vacant  pews  with  young  men  than  all^the  institu- 
tional plans,  wise  and  helpful  and  even  necessary 
though  they  be,  that  were  ever  devised.  In  the 
succeeding  chapters  many  plans  will  be  discussed 
for  promoting  the  spiritual  betterment  of  young 
men,  but  it  must  be  ever  remembered  that  no  one 
of  them  nor  all  of  them  together  have  such  pos- 
sibilities for  the  achieving  of  permanent  results 
as  this.  There  are  many  proper  and  powerful 
aids  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  but  there  is 
no  substitute  for  it. 

Occasional  sermons  especially  for  young  men 
are  often  helpful  in  securing  the  attendance  of 
those  who  do  not  come  ordinarily.  At  such  times 
special  invitations  and  other  means  are  employed 
to  secure  their  presence,  and  topics  of  particular 
importance  to  them  are  discussed.  One  enterpris- 
ing pastor  in  New  Orleans  sent  letters  to  over 
a  hundred  prominent  business  men,  asking  their 
opinions  on  many  points.  He  thus  aroused  a 
wide  interest  in  his  course  of  sermons  to  young 


38      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

men,  and  was  able  to  preach  more  helpfully  to 
them  because  of  the  suggestive  replies. 

It  was  said  that  this  would  prove  the  prime 
means  for  filling  vacant  pews  with  young  men, 
but  must  a  preacher  always  address  his  message 
to  the  properly  behaved  occupants  of  the  pews? 
It  is  certain  that  Jesus  and  Paul  were  very  far  from 
confining  their  utterances  to  those  who  attended 
the  synagogue,  and  the  modern  preacher  who 
would  reach  the  largest  number  of  young  men 
must  often  go  where  they  are.  To  be  sure  this 
is  unconventional,  but  that  very  fact  will  make 
it  appeal  to  them.  In  the  chapter  on  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  the  new  work  of 
taking  the  gospel  into  shops  and  factories  at  the 
noon  hour  is  described.  The  Association  has  an 
especial  advantage  in  this  work  in  that  it  stands 
for  evangelical  Christianity  as  a  whole  and  not  for 
any  denomination  in  particular,  and  where  it  exists 
is  undoubtedly  the  best  agency  for  carrying  it  on. 
But  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  why  any  pastor, 
if  tactful  and  manly,  may  not  do  a  similar  work, 
especially  in  places  where  there  is  no  Association. 

There  are  a  few  pastors  who  have  done  and  are 
doing  it,  the  best  known  of  whom  is  probably  the 
Rev.  Charles  Stelzle,  pastor  of  the  Markham  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  St.  Louis.  He  says  of  it: 
**The  most  effective  way  of  reaching  workingmen 
is  the  simplest  way,  and  any  preacher  can  do  it  if 
he  will.  Let  him  get  away  from  churchly  things 
and  ecclesiastical  manners,  and  go  to  some  big 


THE   CHURCH   PROPER  39 

shop  at  the  noon  hour,  having  secured  permission 
from  the  owner,  and  give  the  men  a  simple  prac- 
tical talk  on  a  Bible  theme.  Have  it  come 
straight  from  the  heart.  I  can  assure  you  that  it 
will,  when  this  method  of  preaching  is  attempted. 
It  will  take  away  the  cobwebs  and  fossilism  of 
years.  It  has  been  my  privilege  to  address 
regularly  about  three  hundred  young  mechanics 
on  themes  that  had  to  do  with  their  eternal 
welfare.  They  felt  at  home  in  the  atmosphere  of 
the  shop,  and  the  illustrations  were  drawn  almost 
entirely  from  shop  life.  I  fancy  that  to  many  of 
them  this  did  not  seem  like  preaching — as  they 
understood  it — but  the  vital  truths  of  God's  word 
were  carried  home.  I  have  never  been  listened 
to  with  greater  interest.  After  all  there  is  noth- 
ing like  the  old,  old  story.  Preached  with  faith 
and  with  a  heart  aflame  with  love  for  the  souls 
of  men,  there  can  be  no  greater  theme,  for  'it  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one' — 
men  of  brawn  as  well  as  men  of  brain — 'that 
believeth.'  "* 

That  pastors  are  not  necessarily  unsuited  to 
this  work  is  evident  also  from  this  statement  in 
a  personal  letter  from  one  who  was  formerly  an 
Association  secretary  and  still  cooperates  in  this 
way:  "Although  rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Church 
(Episcopal)  I  still  speak  twice  and  sometimes 
three  times  a  week  at  the  shops,  confining  my 
talk  purely  to   pointing  the   men  to  Christ  and 

»  The  Workingman  and  Social  Problems^  p.  157. 


40      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

His  teachings.  The  result  is  that  some  go  to  one 
church  and  some  to  another,  and  some  already 
church  members  are  stirred  to  a  greater  zeal.  I 
am  content  with  these  results." 

Shops  may  be  lacking  or — rarely — hostile,  but 
the  open  air  is  always  available.  The  thousands 
of  young  men  who  walk  the  streets  summer 
evenings  may  at  least  to  some  extent  be  reached 
in  this  way.  To  quote  again  from  Mr.  Stelzle's 
large  experience:  "It  is  through  this  method  that 
they  will  be  reached  for  Christ.  Driven  from 
their  homes  by  the  heat  they  will  sit  in  the  parks, 
on  the  docks,  or  on  the  curbstone.  Unwilling  to 
enter  the  church  building  in  the  winter,  they  will 
listen  to  the  gospel  in  a  tent  or  open-air  meetings 
in  the  summer.  With  pipes  in  their  mouths  but 
with  great  respect  and  the  keenest  interest,  I  have 
preached  to  hundreds  of  workingmen  from  the 
top  of  a  barrel  on  a  vacant  corner  lot,  and  to 
many  more  in  a  tent.  ...  I  know  that  street 
preaching  is  not  looked  upon  with  much  favor  by 
the  conservative  people  in  our  churches.  But 
we  have  good  authority  for  it  in  the  greatest 
preachers  of  modern  and  ancient  times,  as  well 
as  in  Paul  and  Jesus."  ^ 

The  preacher  who  would  have  his  message 
reach  the  largest  number  of  young  men  must  be 
willing,  not  occasionally  but  often,  to  follow 
his  Master's  example  in  going  to  them.  By  so 
doing  he  will  not  only  do  good  at  the  time  but 

»  The  Workingman  and  Social  Problems,  pp.  i6i,  162. 


THE   CHURCH   PROPER  4I 

make  them  more  ready  to  come  to  him  in  the 
usual  services,  and  thus  be  brought  more  directly 
under  church  influence. 

D.    PUBLIC   WORSHIP 

The  pastor  is  more  than  the  successor  of  the 
prophets  and  apostles,  is  more  than  a  preacher. 
Spiritual  growth  requires  more  than  the  hearing 
of  sermons,  in  which  the  listener  is  passive;  there 
must  also  be  worship,  the  outgoing  of  the  heart  to 
God  in  devotion  and  adoration.  It  is  an  aid  to 
worship  to  have  believers  "assembled  together," 
and  it  is  in  the  directing  and  leading  of  this  com- 
mon worship  that  the  priestly  function  of  the 
pastor  appears.  As  prophet  he  communicates 
God's  messages  to  men;  as  priest  he  directs  their 
worship  of  Him.  Into  the  much  discussed  ques- 
tion of  church  liturgies  there  is  neither  cause  nor 
space  to  enter  here  at  any  length.  The  question, 
however,  is  a  vital  one  and  must  have  at  least  a 
very  brief  consideration. 

A  marked  characteristic  of  young  men  is  their 
desire  to  do  something,  to  have  a  share  in  what  is 
going  on.  They  do  not  leave  this  characteristic 
outside  the  church  building  when  they  enter. 
They  are  accustomed  to  activity  outside  and  they 
want  some  form  of  it  inside — at  least  the  average 
young  American  does.  He  not  only  wants  to  see 
things  move  but  to  have  some  part  in  their  mov- 
ing, on  Sunday  as  well  as  on  Saturday. 

While  there  is  infinite  variety  in  human  tastes, 


42      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

it  is  safe  to  say  that  young  men  ordinarily  enjoy 
a  religious  service  far  more  when  there  are  fre- 
quent occasions  for  their  participation  in  it, 
through  songs  and  prayers  and  responses,  than 
when  the  preacher  and  choir  do  it  all,  with  a 
grudging  allowance  to  the  congregation  of  a  hymn 
or  two,  usually  mutilated  by  omissions.  The  plan 
of  the  Sunday  Evening  Club,  discussed  in  Chapter 
VI,  has  a  decided  advantage  in  giving  young  men 
a  large  share  not  only  in  the  participation  but 
also  in  the  arranging  of  the  service. 

It  will  be  a  glad  day  when  the  non-liturgical 
churches — as  happily  many  of  [them  are  doing — 
grow  out  of  the  Puritanical  fear  of  doing  any- 
thing that  savors  in  the  least  of  ritualism,  and 
into  the  appreciation  of  the  fact  that,  from  the 
first  note  of  the  organ  voluntary  to  the  last  word 
of  the  benediction,  the  underlying  purpose  of 
the  whole  service,  save  only  possibly  the  sermon 
and  certainly  the  intruding  notices,  is  the  expres- 
sion of  worship,  and  that  in  the  worship  each 
worshiper  ought  to  participate  as  far  as  possible. 
There  ought  to  be  and  there  certainly  is  a  happy 
middle  ground  between  the  equally  barren  confines 
of  the  ordinary  non-liturgical  order  of  exercises 
and  the  extremely  ritualistic  service,  in  which 
there  is  too  often  a  contest  of  speed  and  endur- 
ance between  the  officiating  clergyman  and  his 
panting  congregation.  The  efforts  to  find  this 
ground,  broad  enough  to  afford  pasturage  for  the 
many  folds  of  the  one  flocl^   are  numerous  and 


THE  CHURCH   PROPER  43 

promising.  Success  will  insure  more  of  life  and 
helpfulness  in  church  services,  and  will  serve  in 
no  small  degree  to  secure  the  presence  and  sup- 
port of  young  men,  and  thus  their  spiritual  bet- 
terment. 

Here  again  appears  the  necessity  that  the 
pastor  know  young  men  and  be  in  close  touch 
and  vital  sympathy  with  them.  As  he  cannot 
successfully  bring  God's  messages  to  them,  so 
neither  can  he  direct  their  worship  of  Him,  and 
in  particular  he  cannot  effectually  pray  for  them, 
without  this  intimate  knowledge  and  sympathy. 
His  prophetic  and  his  priestly  ministry  alike  de- 
mand these. 

E.    THE   PRAYER-MEETING 

Some  one  has  said,  with  more  of  prosaic  truth 
than  poetic  fancy,  that  it  would  be  almost  as  reas- 
onable to  expect  a  new  born  child  to  thrive  in  a 
refrigerator  as  for  a  young  convert  to  find  spiritual 
warmth  in  the  average  church  prayer-meeting. 
There  are  some  who  think  that  the  rise  of  the 
young  people's  society  has  been  hurtful  to  this 
service,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  probably  just  the 
reverse.  But  for  the  training  of  the  young  peo- 
ple in  their  own  prayer-meeting,  many  of  the  best 
supporters  of  the  church  prayer-meeting  would 
be  as  dumb  or  as  dull  as  their  elders. 

What  ought  to  be  the  most  wide  awake  and 
thoroughly  enjoyable  service  of  the  week  is 
ordinarily  the    most   sleepy  and  unenjoyable,   a 


/ 


44      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

burden  to  the  faithful  few  and  a  by- word  to  the 
many.  Of  all  the  church  services  young  men 
are  least  in  evidence  at  this.  One  does  not  have 
to  go  far  to  find  the  reason,  indeed  it  has  just 
been  stated.  The  service  is  commonly  sleepy  and 
uninteresting,  and  these  things  the  young  man 
shuns,  not  necessarily  because  he  "loves  darkness 
rather  than  light"  but  because  he  loves  life  rather 
than  lethargy.  His  nature  demands  activity,  and 
he  is  quite  apt  to  obey  its  behests. 

There  is  a  plethora  of  panaceas  for  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  the  writer  proposes  no  new  one.  He 
only  pleads  that,  for  the  sake  of  the  young  men, 
and  so  for  the  sake  of  the  church  itself,  some 
means  be  adopted  for  making  this  service  what  it 
ought  to  be  and  can  be  made,  the  hearthstone 
meeting,  the  family  gathering  where,  by  prayer 
and  praise  and  brotherly  interchange  of  experience 
in  definite  Christian  work,  the  souls  of  young  men 
and  of  all  others  as  well  shall  be  built  up  in  like- 
ness to  Christ,  and  in  whose  atmosphere  of  faith 
and  love  and  fellowship  some  may  even  be  born 
into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

From  this  brief  survey  of  the  agencies  of  what 
for  lack  of  a  better  name  is  called  "the  church 
proper*'  we  turn  to  the  work  of  its  departments, 
always  bearing  in  mind  that  they  are  as  distinctly 
and  vitally  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  church  as  are 
these. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

In  a  field  of  Christian  activity  where  there  are 
already  many  books,  and  where  millions  of  pages 
of  lesson  quarterlies  and  papers  are  published 
every  year,  a  newcomer  must  indeed  be  venture- 
some. But  the  particular  portion  of  the  field  with 
which  this  study  deals  has  had  scant  attention 
in  print,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  place  for 
at  least  a  chapter  upon  the  work  of  the  Sunday- 
school  for  young  men.  First  some  general  con- 
siderations. 

A.    HISTORICAL 

From  the  beginning  Christianity  has  given  large 
place  in  its  work  to  teaching.  Its  Founder  was 
the  greatest  of  teachers,  and  not  only  by  constant 
example  but  by  final  command  laid  upon  His 
followers  the  work  of  teaching  His  gospel  to 
those  who  knew  it  not.  In  the  early  church 
teaching  was  coordinate  with  preaching,  and 
equally  instrumental  in  its  growth.  During  suc- 
ceeding centuries,  amid  all  the  varying  fortunes 
of  the  church,  teaching  was  never  wholly  given 
up.  Renewed  emphasis  was  laid  upon  it  by 
Luther  and  his  fellow  reformers,  and  also  by 
the  Jesuits. 

45 


46      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Its  modern  renaissance  dates  from  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  in  1780 
that  Robert  Raikes,  an  editor  and  philanthropist 
of  Gloucester,  England,  gathered  poor  children 
on  Sunday  for  instruction  in  reading  and  in  the 
elementary  truths  of  religion.  "This,"  says  Dr. 
H.  C.  Trumbull,  "was  the  beginning  of  the 
modern  Sunday-school  movement.  This  was  the 
revival  of  the  divinely  appointed  church  Bible 
school.  This  was  the  starting  point  of  a  new 
period  of  life  and  hope  to  the  church  of  Christ, 
and  through  the  church  to  the  world.**  * 

The  movement  quickly  spread,  not  only 
throughout  England  but  to  other  countries.  It 
soon  found  its  way  to  our  shores  and  became  a 
strong  factor  in  the  religious  life  of  the  new 
nation,  and  has  been  such  increasingly  to  the 
present  day.  A  summary  of  its  work  is  thus 
given  by  Dr.  Trumbull:  "In  the  latter  third  of 
the  eighteenth  century  Bible  study  and  Bible 
teaching  were  a  minor  factor  in  the  activities  of 
the  Christian  church,  and  the  tide  of  vital  god- 
liness was  at  a  vefy  low  ebb  on  the  shores  of  all 
Christendom.  In  the  latter  third  of  the  nineteenth 
century  Bible  study  and  Bible  teaching  have  a 
prominence  never  before  known  in  the  world's 
history,  and  vital  godliness  is  shown  and  felt  with 
unprecedented  f)otency  in  the  life  and  progress  of 
mankind.  This  change  is  due  to  God's  blessing 
on  the  revival  and  expansion  of  the  church  Bible 

»  Vaie  Lectures  on  the  Sunday-school,  p.  no. 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL  47 

school  as  His  chosen  agency  for  Christian  evan- 
gelizing and  Christian  training."* 

Some  idea  of  its  present  magnitude  may  be 
gained  from  the  fact  that  the  membership  of  all 
Sunday-schools  in  the  United  States  is  given  by 
Mr.  Marion  Lawrance  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  the 
general  secretary  of  the  International  Sunday- 
school  Association,  as  over  thirteen  millions,  of 
whom  about  one  and  a  half  millions  are  officers 
and  teachers. 

B.    DEFINITION 

There  is   no   better  definition   of  the  Sunday- 
school  than  Dr.  Trumbull's  phrase,   "the  church       ^ 
Bible  school."     In  this  are  expressed  three  prin- 
ciples worthy  of  emphasis  in  even  so  necessarily 
brief  a  discussion  as  this. 

First,  it  is  a  school,  and  therefore  its  chief 
business  is  teaching.  Its  session  is  not  for  the 
purpose  of  furnishing  entertainment,  though  a  lit- 
tle of  this  may  occasionally  be  wise.  Neither 
is  it  primarily  for  worship,  though  the  atmosphere 
of  worship  and  reverence  should  pervade  its  ex- 
ercises. Its  primary  purpose  is  instruction,  and 
whatever  helps  to  this  end  is  good  and  whatever 
hinders  is  bad.  Its  government  and  methods 
must  have  due  regard  to  this  purpose. 

Second,  its  chief  subject  of  study  is  the  Bible, 
as  the  revelation  of  the  mind  of  God  and  of 
His  will  for  mankind.      History,  literature,   art, 

»  Yale  Lectures  on  the  Sunday-school ^  p.  142. 


48      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

science,  nature-study,  philosophy,  sociology,  all 
these  may  be  used  to  advantage  as  illustrations 
of  Scripture  and  as  supplemental  to  it,  but  they 
can  never  take  its  place.  The  one  text-book  is 
the  Bible,  whose  teachings  are  to  be  so  presented 
as  to  effect,  under  the  blessing  of  its  divine 
Author,  the  spiritual  birth  and  growth  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  school. 

In  the  third  place,  the  Sunday-school  is  a 
department  of  the  church,  and  not  a  thing  in  any 
way  apart  from  it.  It  is  the  church  at  study, 
grouped  in  classes  under  many  leaders,  just  as 
what  is  commonly  but  unfortunately  called  the 
church  service  is  the  church  at  worship,  in  one 
congregation  under  one  leader.  In  this  respect 
it  has  outgrown  the  idea  of  Raikes,  though 
many  still  regard  it  as  simply  a  nursery  for  child- 
ren. Every  member  of  the  church  ought  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  service  of  Bible  study,  as  much 
as  in  the  service  of  worship. 

These  principles  will  each  be  referred  to  later. 
They  are  stated  concisely  at  the  outset  because 
they  underlie  all  that  follows. 

C.    A   FAILURE,  WITH   SOME    CAUSES   AND 
SUGGESTIONS 

I.  Failure.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge 
that  the  Sunday-school  ordinarily  fails  to  hold 
boys  after  the  age  of  about  fifteen.  Detailed 
reports  from  thirty-eight  schools,  sufficiently  dis- 
tributed with  regard  to  place  and  denomination 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  49 

as  to  be  fairly  representative  of  all,  show  the  fol- 
lowing facts  in  confirmation  of  this: 

Total  enrolment, 17,131 

Male  enrolment, 6,814 

Males,    3  to  10  years  inclusive,    1,941 

II  to  15       "  "  1,757 

"       16  to  25       "  "  1,394 

"       26  to  35       "  "  943 

"       over  35  years      ....     779 

The  marked  falling  off  after  the  age  of  fifteen  is 
all  the  more  evident  upon  comparison  of  these 
figures  with  those  for  the  male  population  of  the 
United  States,  according  to  the  last  census. 


Agre 

II  to  15 
16  to  25 

26  to  35 

Pop'n  U.  S. 

3,970,375 
7,339,380 
(increase  85%) 

6,093,548 
(decrease  17%) 

Enrolment 

of  38  schools, 

actual 

1,757 

1,394 
(decrease  26%) 

943 
(decrease  32%) 

Same 
on  basis 
of  pop'n 

3,250 
2,710 

The  figures  in  the  third  column  show  what  the 
membership  of  these  schools  would  be  provided 
they  had  merely  held  their  own.  Taking  as  a 
basis  the  male  membership  from  eleven  to  fifteen 
and  allowing  for  loss  by  death,  but  not  for  re- 
movals, since  in  the  average  community  (these 
were  all  in  large  towns  and  cities)  the  gain  by 
migration  is  greater  than  the  loss,  and  making  no 
allowance  for  additions  of  members  over  fifteen 
who  have  never  been  in  any  school,  the  male 
membership  of  these  schools  from  sixteen  to 
twenty-five  should  have   been    3,250    instead   of 


50      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

1,394,  and  from  twenty-six  to  thirty-five,  2,710 
instead  of  943.  These  facts  present  in  concrete 
form  one  of  the  most  serious  problems  before 
the  Sunday-schools  of  this  country.  What  are 
the  causes  of  this  condition  and  how  may  it  be 
remedied? 

2.  Causes.  To  the  question,  "Why  does  the 
Bible  school  commonly  lose  its  hold  on  boys  upon 
their  becoming  young  men?"  nearly  one  hundred 
replies  were  received  from  pastors  and  superinten- 
dents, and  as  many  more  replies  to  a  similar 
question  were  also  received  from  young  men. 
The  more  important  of  them  are  here  summarized. 

i)  Young  Tnen  themselves.  In  the  first  place,  as 
in  every  line  of  Christian  effort  on  behalf  of  young 
men,  it  must  be  recognized  that  a  large  reason 
for  their  not  being  reached  and  helped  lies  in 
themselves.  Several  workers  give  reasons  of  this 
sort,  among  them  the  principal  of  a  high  grade 
academy  for  boys  near  Chicago,  a  teacher  of 
long  experience,  a  father  of  boys,  and  a  superin- 
tendent of  unusual  ability.  His  whole  reply  is 
worth  study. 

"The  Bible  school  loses  its  hold  on  older 
boys  for  largely  the  same  reasons  that  the  high 
school  loses  its  hold  on  them  at  the  same  age. 
It  has  been  shown  by  reviewing  the  figures  for 
a  number  of  years  in  the  Massachusetts  high 
schools  that  the  loss  during  the  course  would  be 
represented  by  the  figures  18  and  6;  i.e.,  of  eight- 
een pupils  who  enter  only  six  graduate.    Now  in 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  5 1 

considering  these  figures  in  their  bearing  on  the 
boy  problem  we  must  remember  (i)  that  more 
girls  graduate  than  boys,  and  (2)  that  many  of  the 
boys  are  kept  in  school  to  the  end  only  by  social 
and  athletic  interests,  and  graduate  with  condi- 
tions, or  by  narrow  margins,  or  in  weak  courses. 
It  is  a  great  mistake  to  imagine  that  this  difficulty 
is  confined  to  the  Bible  schools. 

"It  is  due  largely  to  the  lack  of  moral  strength 
in  the  boys,  and  for  this  lack  of  strength  we  teach- 
ers and  parents  are,  of  course,  responsible.  In 
passing  from  the  old,  stiff,  repressive  system, 
we  have  temporarily  lost  our  grip  and  our  bearings 
and  the  boys  are  not  learning  obedience,  patience, 
foresightedness,  reverence,  unselfishness.  An 
over-lax,  vague  training  tells  worse  on  the  boys, 
as  the  girls  are  not  spoiled  so  rapidly." 

2)  Deficient  home  training.  This  reply  gives 
another  reason,  also  named  by  several  others, 
that  is  even  more  fundamental,  in  that  it  fixes 
the  blame  for  moral  looseness  in  the  boys  upon 
an  over-lax  training  in  the  home.  The  best  pos- 
sible Sunday-school  is  of  little  influence  compared 
with  the  home,  and  it  neither  can  serve  nor  was 
it  ever  intended  to  serve  as  a  substitute  for  the 
latter  in  imparting  moral  and  religious  instruction. 
At  the  most  it  is  only  a  helper,  supplementing 
what  is  good  and  to  some  extent  correcting  what 
is  bad. 

Parents  who  think  they  have  discharged  their 
responsibility  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  their  chil- 


.:-^'\j 


of 


52      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

dren  by  sending  them  to  Sunday  school  one  hour 
a  week,  have  a  very  narrow  conception  of  their 
duty  in  this  most  important  matter.  There  is 
probably  no  one  thing  which  would  more  surely 
and  quickly  build  up  the  Sunday-school  in  all  its 
departments  than  a  practical  recognition  of  this 
responsibility  by  parents,  and  a  regarding  of  the 
school  not  as  a  substitute  for  their  own  efforts 
but  as  a  valuable  ally. 

3)  Absence  of  adults.  This  would  involve  also 
their  own  presence,  the  lack  of  which  constitutes 
another  reason.  Many  boys  drop  out  of  a  school 
in  spite  of  its  best  efforts  simply  because  they 
think  they  are  getting  too  big,  and  in  this  they 
are  confirmed  by  the  general  absence  of  men, 
including  their  own  fathers.  "How  shall  we  keep 
the  young  people?'*  was  once  asked  at  a  confer- 
ence. "Build  a  wall  of  old  people  between  them 
and  the  door,"  was  the  quick  reply  of  a  wise 
worker. 

4)  Separation  of  church  and  school.  Again,  the 
tendency  to  regard  the  school  as  separate  from 
the  church  has  no  small  effect  in  at  least  allowing, 
if  not  directly  causing,  older  boys  to  drop  out. 
Possessed  of  the  false  idea  that  it  is  a  "children's 
church,"  they  naturally  cease  to  attend  when  no 
longer  children.  If  more  emphasis,  not  so  much 
by  words  as  by  deeds,  were  laid  on  the  fact  that  it 
is  not  for  children  alone  but  for  all,  and  that  it  is 
not  a  "church,"  with  a  modified  form  of  worship, 
but  a  school  for  instruction,  boys  would  not  think 


THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  53 

themselves  to  have  outgrown  it  at  fifteen.  More- 
over, if  upon  ceasing  to  attend  the  school  they 
became  attendants  upon  the  service  of  worship, 
it  would  not  be  so  bad.  But,  having  been  practi- 
cally excused  from  it  by  attending  the  "children's 
church,"  they  have  formed  the  habit  of  absence, 
and  easily  continue  it.  The  small  and  diminish- 
ing presence  of  boys — and  girls  as  well — in  the  ser- 
vice of  worship  is  a  serious  evil,  and  there  is  press- 
ing need  of  immediate  and  radical  improvement. 

It  would  be  a  distinct  gain  in  this  direction 
if  the  two  morning  services  of  the  church,  for 
study  and  for  worship,  could  either  be  combined 
into  one  of  not  exceeding  two  hours,  or  each 
shortened  to  not  over  an  hour  for  the  first,  of  which 
forty-five  minutes  should  be  given  to  the  lesson, 
and  an  hour  and  a  quarter  for  the  second,  with  a 
five-minute  interval.  Let  the  time  be  such  as  to 
accommodate  the  largest  number,  say  ten  o'clock 
for  the  first  and  eleven  for  the  second;  let  the 
function  of  each  service  be  clearly  differentiated; 
let  the  need  of  all  persons  for  each  one  be  duly 
emphasized,  both  by  precept  and  example;  and 
much  will  be  done  toward  the  realization  of  the 
ideal,  "All  the  school  in  the  church  and  all  the 
church  in  the  school."  Such  a  consummation 
is  not  only  "devoutly  to  be  wished,"  but  is  worth 
large  effort  and  sacrifice  to  attain. 

Still  other  causes  often  overlooked  are  to  be 
found  in  present-day  social  conditions,  discussed 
in  the  preceding  chapter. 


54      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

The  foregoing  reasons  are  due  to  conditions 
more  or  less  beyond  the  control  of  the  school,  yet 
wise  management  would  do  much  to  better  them. 
By  far  the  greater  proportion,  however,  of  those 
assigned  by  pastors,  superintendents,  and  young 
men  alike,  are  due  to  faults  in  the  school  itself. 

5)  Non-conversion  of  boys.  An  important  cause 
of  the  failure  to  hold  the  older  boys  lies  in  the 
failure  to  secure  their  previous  conversion.  The 
great  bulk  of  those  who  drop  out  on  becoming 
young  men  have  not  been  converted,  and  hence 
worldly  attractions  easily  surpass  those  of  the 
best  school.  As  clearly  shown  in  the  first  chapter, 
sixteen  is  the  age  of  greatest  probability  of  con- 
version. After  this  the  chances,  from  the  stand- 
point of  human  likelihood,  rapidly  diminish.  The 
function  of  the  Sunday-school  was  said  in  the 
earlier  part  of  this  chapter  to  be  so  to  teach  the 
truths  of  the  Bible  "as  to  effect,  under  the  bless- 
ing of  its  divine  Author,  the  spiritual  birth  and 
growth  of  the  members."  If  this  birth  does  not 
occur  in  the  boy  by  the  age  of  sixteen,  it  will  be  in- 
creasingly difficult  in  the  next  few  years  and  soon 
impossible  to  hold  the  young  man  in  the  school. 

Too  much  emphasis  can  hardly  be  laid  upon  the 
importance  of  religious  training  in  the  earliest 
years  of  boyhood.  But  the  common  idea  that 
everything  must  bend  to  the  child,  and  that  if  only 
he  is  started  right  he  will  continue  right,  is  false. 
Saplings  may  grow  that  way  but  not  boys.  Zeal- 
ous workers  are  too  often  so  impressed  with  the 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  55 

saying  attributed  to  the  Jesuit  Xavier,  "Give  me 
a  child  until  he  is  seven  and  I  care  not  who  has 
him  afterward,"  as  to  be  blind  to  the  need  of 
constant  training  in  all  the  years  of  boyhood  and 
young  manhood  that  follow  seven,  if  the  results 
of  early  training  are  to  be  conserved.  This  is  all 
too  clearly  shown  by  the  figures  at  the  beginning 
of  this  section.  Moreover,  Xavier  had  in  mind 
the  daily  and  hourly  training  of  a  child,  and  not 
the  one  hour  a  week  which  comprises  all  the  posi- 
tive spiritual  training  that  many  a  pupil  receives. 

Of  course,  no  one  would  hold  that  the  Sunday- 
school  is  solely  responsible  for  the  conversion 
of  its  boys,  but  that  it  has  a  very  large  and  too 
often  neglected  responsibility  in  the  matter  will 
be  admitted  by  all.  That  it  is  the  most  effective 
single  agency  of  the  church  for  inducing  conver- 
sions is  beyond  doubt.  It  has  been  estimated  by 
a  worker  of  wide  experience  and  observation  that 
over  three-fourths  of  all  the  church  accessions  by 
confession  of  faith  are  from  its  ranks.  It  is  an 
occasion  for  devout  gratitude  that  out  of  one 
hundred  schools  embraced  in  this  study,  forty- 
seven  reported  a  total  of  405  conversions  of  young 
men  in  twelve  months  traceable  at  least  in  part  to 
their  work.  There  is  nevertheless  ample  room 
for  improvement  at  this  point,  and  large  need  of 
it  for  the  sake  of  the  school  itself,  especially  in 
the  sphere  of  its  work  for  the  older  boys  and 
young  men. 

The  school  in  which  there  are  frequent  conver- 


56      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

sionsof  boys  through  the  agency  of  faithful  teach- 
ing will  ordinarily  be  successful  in  holding  the 
young  men.  It  is,  however,  too  true  that  many 
boys  who  have  been  converted  and  are  members 
of  the  church  drop  out  of  the  Sunday-school.  Con- 
version is  a  strong  tie,  but  sometimes  even  it  fails, 
and  we  must  look  farther. 

6)  Lack  of  male  teachers.  The  absence  of  men  as 
teachers  is  another  reason  for  the  loss  of  older 
boys  and  the  consequent  lack  of  young  men.  This 
deficiency  is  clearly  seen  in  the  reports  of  eighty- 
two  schools,  in  which  there  are  1,667  female 
teachers  but  only  703  males.  Let  there  be  more 
men,  particularly  of  the  manly  sort,  to  teach  boys, 
and  in  a  few  years  the  lack  of  young  men  will 
be  in  part  remedied.  Some  wise  man  has  said 
that  the  best  way  to  get  a  strong  church  mem- 
bership is  to  grow  it  from  childhood,  and  this  is 
equally  true  of  the  young  men's  classes  in  the 
Sunday-school. 

7)  Poor  teaching.  The  chief  reason  why  the 
school  is  not  more  successful  with  young  men  is 
naturally  connected  with  its  chief  function,  which 
is  teaching.  Children  may  be  held  by  various 
methods  such  as  entertainments,  cards,  papers  and 
books,  but  the  average  young  man  has,  in  these 
respects  at  least,  "put  away  childish  things."  If 
he  is  to  be  held  in  an  institution  whose  chief  bus- 
iness is  to  teach,  he  must  be  taught,  and  both  the 
substance  and  form  of  the  teaching  must  be  such 
as  to  command  his  respect. 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL  S7 

In  the  last  analysis,  it  is  the  teacher  who  holds 
the  key  to  the  situation.  Let  the  teacher  fail, 
either  through  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  subject 
or,  what  is  equally  fatal,  through  lack  of  intimate 
knowledge  of  and  real  hearty  sympathy  with  the 
young  men,  and  all  the  other  features  of  the 
school,  however  attractive,  will  avail  but  little. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  general  affairs  of  the 
school  may  be  conducted  never  so  poorly,  but  if 
the  teacher  knows  the  subject  thoroughly  and 
knows  how  to  present  it  in  such  fashion  as  to 
make  the  lesson  a  source  of  real  help  for  the 
everyday  life  of  young  men  and  a  positive 
addition  to  their  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and, 
what  is  equally  vital,  has  both  thorough  acquaint- 
ance and  genuine  sympathy  with  each  member, 
the  work  of  the  class  will  be  successful  to  a  high 
degree. 

It  is  unfortunately  true  that  too  much  of  present 
day  Sunday-school  teaching  deserves  the  name 
given  it  by  an  experienced  superintendent, 
"wishy-washy."  Fatal  to  any  teaching,  this  is 
particularly  so  in  teaching  young  men.  In  the 
public  schools  they  have  been  under  the  best 
teachers,  and  are  quick  to  detect  a  poorly  learned 
lesson  or  sham  of  any  sort.  Of  all  "pious 
frauds"  there  is  none  greater  or  more  serious  in 
its  consequences  than  that  which  masquerades 
under  the  name  of  teaching  in  many  Sunday- 
school  classes. 

Young  men,  too,  who  are    in    the   strain  and 


58      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Stress  of  every-day  life  and  beset  by  its  real 
difficulties,  get  little  help  from  the  weak  senti- 
mentality and  pious  platitudes  that  are  too  often 
found  there.  Of  all  subjects  in  the  world  that 
deserve  to  be  presented  to  young  men  in  honest, 
vigorous,  straightforward,  manly  fashion,  the 
foremost  is  religion.  Of  all  the  books  in  the 
world  that  ought  to  be  taught  in  such  fashion, 
the  first  is  the  book  which  deals  with  the  real 
problems  of  life  and  offers  help  for  their  solution 
as  does  no  other,  the  book  which  portrays  Moses 
and  David,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  John  and  Paul, 
the  book  of  books,  the  Bible.  With  its  general 
facts  and  teachings  they  are  more  or  less  familiar. 
What  they  want  is  to  have  them  applied  to  the 
specific  problems  of  their  daily  living.  Its  eternal 
truths  must  be  translated  not  simply  into  English 
but  into  the  concrete  vernacular  of  present  life 
with  its  ever-changing  conditions.  The  teacher 
who  does  this  will  have  little  or  no  difficulty  in 
holding  young  men. 

3.  Suggestions.  Growing  partly  out  of  the  con- 
sideration of  these  causes,  partly  out  of  the  reports 
from  schools,  and  partly  out  of  experience,  some 
suggestions  are  here  offered. 

i)  The  lesson.  While  the  teacher  is  the  most 
important  element  in  the  problem  of  holding 
young  men  in  the  Sunday-school,  another  of  much 
importance  is  the  lesson  to  be  taught.  There  is 
neither  desire  nor  space  to  take  up  the  controversy 
over  the  relative  merits  of  the  International  Les- 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL  59 

son  System  and  its  chief  rival,  the  Bible  Study 
Union  or  Blakeslee  System,  published  in  Boston. 
It  will,  of  course,  be  granted  that  with  either 
one  a  good  teacher  can  do  good  work,  but  after 
experience  with  both  the  writer  is  convinced  of 
the  unquestioned  superiority  of  the  latter,  for  all 
departments  of  the  school.  The  fact  that  it  re- 
quires some  real  mental  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
pupil  is  no  doubt  unwelcome  to  some,  especially 
to  those  whose  school  days  are  past  and  their 
habits  of  study  abandoned.  But  in  the  long  run 
its  worth  will  attract  more  than  its  work  repels, 
while  the  individual  results  will  ordinarily  be  far 
superior.  Even  where  a  school  is  using  the  older 
system,  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  why  the 
young  men's  class  may  not  adopt  the  newer.  The 
very  fact  that  they  have  different  lessons  will  do 
much  to  relieve  a  perhaps  unworthy  but  never- 
theless real  feeling  that  they  are  only  a  side 
feature  of  a  juvenile  institution,  merely  a  class 
of  bigger  children.  Some  of  the  courses  offered 
by  the  American  Institute  of  Sacred  Literature, 
Chicago,  and  also  most  or  all  of  those  provided 
by  the  International  Committee  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations,  New  York,  could 
be  used  with  much  profit. 

So  simple  a  provision  as  this  would  do  much  to 
meet  such  objections  as  these:  "The  young  men 
are  not  properly  cared  for;  they  are  not  dealt 
with  as  men;  there  is  a  lack  of  adaptation  to  their 
needs;  lack  of  class  spirit;  lack  of  high  grade  in- 


60      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

struction;  lack  of  progressive  study;  schools  not 
graded;  lack  of  a  definite  goal  in  study;  teach- 
ing not  virile;  the  pedagogic  imbecility  of  the 
uniform  lesson  system." 

2)  Grading.  One  of  the  more  recent  reforms 
which  promises  much  for  the  betterment  of 
Sunday-school  work  in  general  and  so  of  that  for 
young  men,  as  suggested  in  the  previous  section, 
is  the  introduction  of  the  graded  system.  When 
once  it  is  recognized  that  the  distinguishing  func- 
tion of  the  school  is  instruction,  it  must  be  admit- 
ted that  this  should  be  conducted  in  accordance 
with  sound  principles  of  teaching.  One  of  the 
most  evident  of  these  is  that  the  subject  to  be 
taught  be  adapted  to  the  understanding  of  the 
pupil.  That  a  mere  sentiment  as  to  the  beauty 
of  millions  of  pupils  studying  the  same  lesson 
every  Sunday  should  be  allowed  to  push  aside 
this  fundamental  principle,  is  far  from  creditable 
to  the  leaders  in  this  great  work.  As  well  re- 
quire that  all  persons  in  this  land  should  eat  the 
same  thing  for.  breakfast  every  Sunday  morning  as 
a  matter  of  sentiment,  no  matter  whether  it  is 
the  best  food  for  them  or  not. 

Some  of  the  most  advanced  schools  not  only 
have  the  pupils  graded,  on  the  basis  of  their 
public  school  grades,  but  also  have  written 
examinations.  The  boy  in  such  a  school  who 
has  been  really  making  definite  progress  in 
Scripture  knowledge  up  to  fifteen  will  be  more 
likely   to    continue   as    a   young    man    than  one 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  6 1 

brought  up  under  the  ordinary  method— or  lack 
of  it. 

The  two  schools  best  known  to  the  writer  that 
have  had  this  system  in  operation  for  several 
years  are  the  Hyde  Park  Baptist  of  Chicago, 
the  superintendent  of  which  is  President  Harper 
of  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  the  First  Bap- 
tist of  Morgan  Park,  Illinois,  a  suburb  of  Chi- 
cago, the  superintendent  of  which  is  Professor  I. 
B.  Burgess.  Details  of  the  plan  can  be  secured 
from  them.  A  book  just  published.  Principles 
and  Ideals  for  the  Sunday-school^  is  largely  based 
on  the  experience  in  the  former  school. 

3)  Questions.  The  methods  of  teaching  are  also 
important,  but  a  single  suggestion  must  suffice. 
If  there  is  to  be  real  teaching  and  not  simply 
lecturing,  the  conversational  method  employed  by 
the  great  Teacher  must  be  followed.  This  involves 
questioning,  and  that  takes  great  care  and  tact. 

The  average  young  man,  even  though  he  be  a 
college  graduate,  is  not  well  posted  on  the  facts 
and  teachings  of  the  Bible,  and  is  moreover  sen- 
sitive about  having  his  ignorance  exposed.  At  the 
same  time  the  teacher  must  know  the  extent  of 
his  knowledge  in  order  to  help  him,  and  to  get 
this  safely  requires  much  wisdom.  It  is  always 
best  not  to  question  too  closely  or  too  pointedly, 
lest  he  take  offense  and  cease  coming.  At  least 
one  promising  class  was  broken  up  by  a  too  rigid 
insistence  upon  the  question  and  answer  method 
of  the  school-room. 


62      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

4)  Mixed  classes.  The  question  of  the  co-edu- 
cation of  young  people  is  a  live  one  no  less  in 
the  Sunday-school  than  in  college  circles.  The 
case  for  mixed  classes  is  thus  stated:  "The  pre- 
sence of  both  sexes  furnishes  an  intellectual  stim- 
ulus. It  is  an  incentive  to  quick  thinking  and 
insures  broader  range  of  opinion  in  time  of  dis- 
cussion. The  differences  between  the  feminine 
and  the  masculine  processes  of  thought  and  the 
correspondingly  different  results  furnish  abi-focal 
vision  on  practical  questions,  and  that  is  a  helpful 
thing  in  any  search  for  truth."* 

On  the  other  hand,  in  a  class  composed  of 
young  men  only  there  is  a  larger  freedom  in 
discussion,  not  only  on  general  points  but  partic- 
ularly on  matters  of  especial  interest  to  them- 
selves, which  will  ordinarily  overbalance  the 
advantages  cited  for  the  mixed  class.  Accord- 
ing to  the  reports,  by  far  the  larger  proportion  of 
classes  containing  young  men  consist  of  them 
only,  which  is  true  also  of  nearly  or  quite  all  of 
the  eminently  successful  ones. 

5)  Sex  of  teacher.  Whether  the  teacher  of 
young  men  should  be  a  man  or  a  woman  is  a 
question  that  often  arises.  There  are  undoubt- 
edly traits  of  character  in  a  woman  which  are  of 
great  advantage  to  her  in  such  a  position,  and 
not  less  so  to  the  young  men  as  well.  Yet, 
while  there  are  many  women  who  are  very  suc- 
cessful teachers,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  with  equal 

*  The  Pilgrim  Teacher  (Congregational),  December,  1902,  p.  543. 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  63 

ability  to  teach  and  equal  interest  in  and  for  the 
class,  a  man  is  preferable.  He  knows,  as  even  a 
mother  of  young  men  can  not,  the  peculiar 
trials  and  temptations  to  which  they  are  liable 
by  reason  of  their  nature.  He  knows,  too,  as 
the  other  can  not,  the  business  ambitions  and 
struggles  they  are  experiencing.  He  can  there- 
fore better  enter  into  their  lives  and  so  have 
that  real  heart  touch  with  them  without  which 
the  most  skillful  teaching  will  avail  but  little. 
Whether  he  be  young  or  old  in  years  does  not 
matter  much,  provided  his  heart  beats  in  unison 
with  theirs. 

6)  Time  of  meeting.  This  is  an  important  factor 
in  the  success  of  a  young  men's  class.  Many 
are  employed  in  stores  so  late  on  Saturday  nights 
that  attendance  upon  a  Sunday  morning  session 
is  practically  out  of  the  question.  Others  are 
engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  till  so  late 
an  hour  as  to  have  a  similar  effect.  It  is  useless 
to  seek  to  change  such  habits  of  business  and 
pleasure.  The  wiser  method  is  to  recognize  their 
existence  and  plan  accordingly. 

Most  of  the  large  classes,  so  far  as  known, 
meet  at  noon,  and  this  is  on  the  whole  probably 
the  best  hour,  especially  in  large  cities.  Even 
if  the  main  school  meets  at  half-past  nine,  or 
better  at  ten,  as  suggested  in  a  preceding  para- 
graph, it  may  be  best  for  the  young  men's  class 
to  meet  after  the  service  of  worship.  This 
affords   an    invitation    committee    an    excellent 


64      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

opportunity  to  build  up  a  large  attendance.  Of 
course,  the  local  conditions  must  finally  deter- 
mine this  as  well  as  many  other  details.  One 
morning  class  reports  the  difficulty  above  referred 
to,  while  one  meeting  at  noon  has  trouble  in 
securing  the  attendance  of  young  men  who  live 
in  boarding  houses,  "since  they  want  to  get  the 
full  benefit  of  the  one  good  meal  in  the  week." 

7)  Separate  room.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
this  is  always  advisable  for  a  young  men's  class, 
and  will  prove  of  much  help  in  holding  it 
together.  If  they  can  themselves  provide  pic- 
tures and  other  decorations,  and  perhaps  some 
special  furniture,  it  will  help  to  develop  a  class 
spirit  that  will  often  tide  over  emergencies. 
Where  there  is  a  separate  room  the  young  men's 
class  need  not  participate  in  the  closing  exer- 
cises of  the  main  school,  but  close  at  its  pleasure. 

This  leads  to  the  next  topic,  that  of  organiza- 
tion, which  demands  a  whole  section  of  its  own. 

D.    ORGANIZED   CLASSES 

One  of  the  most  hopeful  features  of  Sunday- 
school  work  as  a  whole,  and  the  most  promising 
of  its  work  in  this  department,  is  the  growth 
of  organized  Bible  classes  of  young  men.  These 
take  the  form  of  definite  societies  with  constitu- 
tion, officers  and  committees,  and  do  much  work 
in  addition  to  that  connected  with  the  session 
for  study.  The  number  is  already  large  and  is 
rapidly  increasing,  and  hence  no  attempt  has  been 


CALIFO 


^%iii^ 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  65 

made  to  enumerate  them.  The  study  of  a  few 
typical  ones  will  be  undertaken  as  best  affording 
a  knowledge  of  the  general  workings  of  all,  with- 
out any  reflection  on  many  more  equally  good 
but  from  whom  no  reports  could  be  obtained, 
nor  the  yet  larger  number  unknown. 

I.  Class  Number  Eight.  This  class,  in  the  First 
Baptist  Sunday-school  of  Urbana,  Ohio,  is  one 
of  the  oldest  existing  Bible  classes  for  young 
men  having  a  definite  organization.  It  was  estab- 
lished in  December,  1870,  with  three  members, 
under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  H.  C.  Houston, 
who  has  been  the  teacher  ever  since,  with  two 
intervals.  For  the  first  year  the  enrolment  was 
eight,  and  from  that  fact  the  name  was  derived. 
The  membership  was  soon  limited  to  twelve  and 
a  waiting  list  established,  but  the  popularity  of 
the  class  compelled  a  raising  of  the  limit. 

In  1875  ^^^  1876,  during  the  absence  of  Dr. 
Houston,  several  young  women  were  admitted, 
resulting  in  its  disorganization.  In  January, 
1878,  it  was  reorganized  on  the  original  basis 
and  has  had  a  continuous  existence  since  then. 
By  December  of  that  year  the  membership  was 
twenty,  and  the  eighth  anniversary  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  class  was  celebrated  by  a  reunion 
at  the  teacher*s  home,  with  social  features,  reports, 
and  election  of  officers.  This  custom  has  since 
been  regularly  observed,  except  during  the  second 
of  the  intervals  referred  to. 

The  spirit  of   giving  was  early  developed,  as 


66      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

shown  by  large  regular  collections  and  other 
contributions,  although  the  membership  was  made 
up  of  wage-earners  and  others  on  small  salaries. 
In  1882,  upon  the  erection  of  a  new  church  build- 
ing, the  class  not  only  gave  over  ;^2,ooo  to  the 
general  fund  but  also  built  and  furnished  its 
own  room  at  a  cost  of  $1,000.  This  is  a  one- 
story  addition  to  the  main  Sunday-school  room, 
into  which  it  opens  by  sliding  doors.  The  prin- 
ciple of  a  limited  membership  having  been 
adhered  to,  the  new  room  was  arranged  to  seat 
just  fifty.  The  following  description,  as  also  all 
the  information  in  this  paragraph,  is  taken  from 
the  published  history  of  the  class. 

"Each  chair  has  on  it  the  name  of  the  occupant 
and  the  date  when  he  became  a  member.  Just 
inside  the  door  (a  separate  entrance)  are  fifty 
brass  hooks.  Above  each  is  a  number  corre- 
sponding to  a  numbered  chair,  and  on  each  a 
numbered  card  giving  the  name,  residence,  occu- 
pation and  date  of  membership.  These  are  so 
faced  before  the  session  as  to  be  read,  and  as 
the  members  arrive  they  reverse  them,  so  that 
the  usher  can  see  at  a  glance  what  seats  are 
available  for  visitors.  The  secretary  makes  up 
the  record  from  the  cards  and  thus  obviates  the 
calling  of  the  roll.  On  the  walls  are  pictures  of 
those  who  have  died  while  members,  and  on  the 
sliding  doors  are  blackboards." 

During  Dr.  Houston's  second  absence,  from 
1885    to   1891,   the    attendance    was    greatly    re- 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  67 

duced,  but  upon  his  resuming  the  work  the 
former  prosperity  returned  and  even  increased. 
The  fifty  large  arm  chairs  originally  provided 
were  replaced  in  1893  by  seventy  smaller  ones 
and  later  increased  to  ninety-two,  the  extreme 
capacity  of  the  room. 

These  are  arranged  in  four  semi-circles.  The 
first,  and  most  remote  from  the  teacher,  are 
occupied  by  the  older  members;  the  second  by 
those  averaging  twenty  years  of  age;  the  third, 
eighteen;  the  fourth,  sixteen.  In  1876  a  fifth 
division  was  established,  consisting  of  boys  from 
twelve  to  fifteen.  They  are  received  as  mem- 
bers but  meet  ordinarily  with  the  rest  of  the 
school,  sitting  next  to  the  sliding  doors  which 
open  into  the  room  of  the  class. 

In  1893  the  class,  was  incorporated  under  the 
state  laws,  the  object  being  "the  mutual  improve- 
ment and  help  of  its  members,  and  for  charit- 
able and  benevolent  purposes." 

Among  the  features  of  class  life  in  addition  to 
the  Sunday  session  are  the  following:  Social 
gatherings,  besides  the  annual  reunions,  attended 
by  as  high  as  two  hundred  and  fifty  young 'men, 
and  also  summer  outings;  the  relief  of  members 
in  need  and  the  providing  of  employment  through 
a  committee  of  three  business  men,  who  came 
into  the  class  as  boys;  much  is  also  given  for  the 
relief  of  others  who  may  be  in  distress;  visita- 
tion and  watching  in  sickness;  attendance  in  a 
body  upon  funerals;    and  the  observance  of   the 


68      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

first  Sunday  in  June  as  a  class  memorial  day, 
when  the  graves  of  deceased  members  are  deco- 
rated with  appropriate  exercises. 

A  new  member  is  admitted,  in  case  of  vacancy, 
only  after  attendance  on  four  successive  Sundays, 
and  upon  recommendation  by  the  board  of  trus- 
tees, since  the  class  is  an  incorporated  body. 
A  brief  service  of  recognition  attends  his  admis- 
sion, in  which  he  agrees  to  be  present  regularly 
and  to  conform  to  the  customs  and  rules.  He 
receives  a  membership  certificate,  suitable  for 
framing,  a  badge  to  be  used  on  special  occasions, 
and  a  class  button  for  daily  wearing.  Certifi- 
cates of  honorary  membership  are  granted  to 
those  who  leave  the  city  after  not  less  than  six 
months  of  regular  attendance,  and  also  to  those 
who  do  not  leave  but  find  it  impossible  to  keep 
up  attendance,  provided  they  have  done  so  not 
less  than  two  years.  In  case  of  a  member's  re- 
moval, notice  is  sent  to  a  pastor  or  superintendent 
in  his  new  home,  thus  helping  to  continue  his 
interest  in  such  work.  Members  are  excluded 
after  three  consecutive  absences  without  excuse. 

A  large  book  is  kept  in  which  each  member 
records  his  name,  age,  occupation  and  date  of 
membership,  and  space  is  reserved  for  recording 
future  important  events  in  his  life.  Over  three 
hundred  have  been  thus  enrolled. 

The  class  has  had  a  large  influence  in  the 
community.  At  the  time  of  its  organization  it 
was    the    custom   of    the    boys    in   the    place  to 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  69 

drop  out  of  Sunday-school  at  about  fifteen. 
But  there  are  now  similar  classes  in  the  other 
schools,  due  largely  to  its  example,  and  their 
membership  includes  a  large  proportion  of  the 
young  men  of  the  city. 

So  much  space  has  been  given  to  the  work 
of  this  class  because  its  existence  for  over  thirty 
years  gives  an  unusual  opportunity  to  judge  of 
the  value  of  its  methods.  Its  history  shows, 
among  other  things,  the  truth  of  a  statement  in 
the  preceding  section,  to  the  effect  that  the 
chief  factor  in  the  success  of  any  class  is  the 
teacher.  Organization,  supplemental  activities, 
separate  room,  these  and  all  other  features  are 
clearly  shown  in  this  case  to  be  distinctly  subor- 
dinate. This  is  not  said  to  discourage  but 
rather  to  encourage  teachers.  Not  all  teach- 
ers have  the  special  ability  of  this  one,  but  any 
one  who  will  follow  the  example  of  this  busy 
physician  in  putting  mind  and  heart  and  time 
into  the  work,  mastering  the  subject  to  be  taught, 
gaining  the  hearts  of  young  men  by  intimate 
knowledge  of  and  manly  sympathy  with  them, 
and  supplementing  these  essentials  by  such  other 
and  secondary  means  as  may  be  wise,  can  also 
have  large  success  as  a  teacher  and  leader  of 
young  men. 

Again,  this  shows  what  can  be  done  in  a  com- 
paratively small  place.  In  1870  the  population 
of  Urbana  was  only  a  little  over  four  thousand, 
and  is  now  less  than  twice  that.     There  are  indeed 


70      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

distinct  advantages  in  a  smaller  place  over  a  city, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  a  more  intimate 
acquaintance  on  the  part  of  both  teacher  and 
members,  and  the  consequent  stronger  personal 
ties. 

The  history  of  this  class  also  shows  the  value 
of  patient,  persistent  work.  No  plan  will  work 
itself,  nor  will  the  same  plan  work  equally  well 
everywhere.  There  is  no  patent  method  which 
will  insure  success  here  any  more  than  else- 
where, nor  will  the  best  plan  have  any  success 
anywhere  without  honest,  consecrated,  untiring 
effort. 

2.  The  Vaughn  ClasSy  of  the  Calvary  Baptist 
Sunday-school,  Washington,  D.  C.  This  has 
been  in  existence  over  fourteen  years,  having 
been  organized  in  February,  1889  by  Mr.  F.  W. 
Vaughn,  who  is  still  the  teacher  and  by  whose 
name  it  is  commonly  called,  although  being 
No.  II  in  the  school.  Starting  in  modest  fashion, 
with  five  members,  the  present  enrolment  is 
nearly  three  hundred.  Its  honorary  members, 
as  all  who  leave  the  city  are  considered,  number 
nearly  three  thousand,  in  all  walks  of  life  from 
laborer  to  college  president,  and  are  scattered  lit- 
erally all  over  the  world.  This  wide  distribution  is 
due  to  the  rapidly  changing  character  of  the 
population  of  the  city,  so  many  of  whom  are 
students  and  government  employees. 

Its  object  is  thus  stated:  "This  class  was 
organized    for  the  purpose  of    helping  to    make 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  7 1 

bad  men  good  and  good  men  better,  and  to 
keep  them  so,  through  the  gospel  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

The  question  and  answer  method  is  but  little 
employed  in  teaching,  most  of  the  lesson  time 
being  occupied  by  the  leader  in  an  informal 
address.  This  is  regarded  as  one  element  in  the 
large  success  of  the  class,  and  perhaps  rightly, 
but  its  adoption  would  not  be  wise  for  the  average 
teacher  or  class,  as  before  indicated. 

Visitors  fill  up  a  card  giving  name,  address, 
church  membership,  and  relation  to  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  The  secretary,  Dr. 
E.  C.  Rice,  writes:  "If  he  is  a  boarder  we  try  to 
entertain  him  in  our  homes  and  also  induce 
him  to  join  the  Association."  Having  none  of 
the  institutional  features  of  many  classes,  there 
is  hearty  cooperation  with  the  Association  and 
generous  financial  support.  More  than  five  thou- 
sand dollars  has  been  expended  for  religious 
work. 

Among  the  various  features  of  its  work  are 
the  following:  Young  men  from  outside  the  city 
are  committed  to  its  watch-care;  a  class  prayer- 
meeting  of  forty  minutes  is  held  each  Sunday 
before  the  evening  service;  the  teacher,  who  is 
past  middle  life,  is  at  home  one  evening  a  week 
to  receive  members  and  friends;  he  issues  a  New 
Year's  letter  of  greeting;  each  absentee  receives 
by  mail  a  card  of  regret  requesting  notice  if  ill, 
reminding  him  of  the  regular  appointments,  and 


72      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

giving  the  attendance  on  the  day  of  his  absence; 
if  absent  two  successive  Sundays  he  is  visited 
and  a  written  report  made  to  the  secretary; 
occasional  social  gatherings  and  an  annual  con- 
cert. 

The  most  marked  feature,  however,  which,  so 
far  as  known  to  the  writer,  is  peculiar  to  it  and  a 
few  others  patterned  after  it,  is  a  secret  organiza- 
tion known  as  the  Vaughn  Class  Club,  to  which 
only  members  of  the  class  are  eligible,  except 
for  honorary  membership.  Its  objects  are:  "(i) 
To  advance  the  interests  of  the  class;  (2)  to  in- 
crease the  mutual  acquaintance  of  its  members; 
(3)  to  promote  among  them  a  more  earnest  Chris- 
tian life;  (4)  to  afford  them  material  assistance 
when  necessary." 

The  officers  are:  instructor;  co-instructor;  presi- 
dent; two  vice-presidents;  secretary,  who  keeps 
the  records  of  both  the  club  and  the  class; 
treasurer,  also  of  both;  financial  secretary,  to 
collect  club  dues;  historian,  who  reads  a  class 
history  of  each  year  at  the  annual  banquet; 
crayonist,  to  assist  the  instructor;  librarian; 
ushers,  who  serve  at  the  class  sessions;  organist. 
In  addition  to  these  officers  of  the  club  who  also 
serve  the  class  are  chaplain,  guide,  and  guard, 
whose  duties  pertain  to  the  club  only.  All  offi- 
cers are  annually  elected  by  ballot. 

The  committees  are:  executive,  consisting  of 
officers;  relief,  providing  flowers  for  the  sick  and 
assistance  if   needed;   picket,  to  greet  strangers 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  73 

at  every  service  of  the  church  and  visit  absentees; 
entertainment.  Concerning  the  picket  committee 
the  secretary  writes:  "The  young  men  do  a  fine 
work  in  greeting  strangers,  of  whom  there  are 
many,  especially  at  the  evening  service.  A 
teacher  may  be  never  so  good,  but  if  he  does 
not  have  the  support  of  the  members  in  wel- 
coming strangers  his  influence  will  be  confined 
to  a  small  class,  that  will  remain  such.  The 
cooperation  of  the  scholar  is  under-estimated  by 
most  Sunday-school  workers. " 

The  initiation  fee  and  monthly  dues  are  small, 
and  used  primarily  for  relief  work.  On  ceasing 
to  attend  the  class  a  member  loses  his  active 
membership  in  the  club.  About  one  third  of 
the  class  are  also  club  members,  many  being  stu- 
dents or  others  who  are  unable  to  attend  its 
week-night  sessions,  which  are  held  once  a  month. 

Members  sign  the  following  pledge:  "It  is 
the  desire  of  my  life  to  live  uprightly,  and 
with  Christ  as  my  guide  and  with  His  help,  I 
shall  endeavor  to  reflect  His  life  in  mine.  I  do 
solemnly  promise  to  assist  our  instructor  and 
pastor  in  their  worthy  efforts  to  encourage  young 
men  to  fortify  their  character  by  living  close  to 
Christ."  This  is  repeated  by  all  at  each  meet- 
ing. 

The  candidate  is  initiated  with  a  simple  but 
impressive  ritual,  designed  to  emphasize  the 
Bible  as  the  light  of  life's  pathway.  After 
giving  a  pledge  of  secrecy  he  is  welcomed    by 


74      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

the  instructor,  who  gives  him  the  pass-word  and 
grip,  and  offers  personal  advice  of  a  spiritual 
nature.  The  initiation  is  treated  as  a  religious 
service  and  is  conducted  with  due  propriety,  as 
indeed  the  whole  session,  which  is  opened  and 
closed  with  prayer. 

The  initials  of  the  club  are  given  a  double 
significance — "Virtue,  Charity,  Courage,"  of 
which  the  buttonhole  badge  is  a  constant  reminder. 
The  marked  social  feature  of  the  club  life  is  an 
annual  banquet  of  high  order,  at  which  addresses 
are  given  by  eminent  men.  All  the  printing  of 
both  club  and  class  is  of  unusual  excellence,  a 
feature  too  often  slighted.  Several  classes  have 
been  established  on  similar  lines  and  those  con- 
templating organization  may  address  the  secre- 
tary. 

3.  The  Baraca  Class  and  Union.  Like  most 
movements  which  have  achieved  greatness,  this 
had  a  humble  beginning.  One  October  Sunday 
in  1890,  a  group  of  young  men  standing  outside 
of  the  house  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Syra- 
cuse, New  York,  were  invited  to  come  in  by  a 
young  business  man,  Mr.  M.  A.  Hudson.  Re- 
pairs were  in  process  and  apart  from  the  Sunday- 
school  room,  which  they  did  not  wish  to  enter, 
the  only  available  seats  were  the  backs  of  pews, 
and  in  such  unconventional  fashion  the  first 
Baraca  class  was  started.  The  name  is  a  modi- 
fication for  convenience  of  the  Hebrew  word 
beracah  (2   Chron.   20:26),   meaning   "blessing," 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  75 

the  idea  being  that  the  class  should  be  a  means  of 
blessing  both  to  its  members  and  others. 

From  the  outset  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the 
fact  that  this  was  to  be  a  class  with  the  study  of 
the  Bible  as  its  central  object.  Its  distinctly 
religious  purpose  was  honestly  put  at  the  front, 
so  that  no  one  could  be  deceived.  Yet  it  was 
also  recognized  that  supplemental  features  might 
be  employed  to  good  advantage.  A  class  organi- 
zation was  at  once  formed  with  various  officers 
and  committees,  to  be  mentioned  later.  A  pin 
was  adopted,  being  a  monogram  of  the  name; 
social,  literary  and  athletic  events  were  held;  a 
game  and  reading  room  and  later  a  gymnasium 
were  opened,  and  reports  were  published  in  the 
newspapers.  By  such  vigorous  means  the  mem- 
bership grew  rapidly,  the  average  attendance  at 
the  end  of  three  months  being  fifty.  The  enjoy- 
ment of  these  secondary  features  was  conditioned 
upon  class  attendance. 

Nor  was  the  distinctly  spiritual  side  of  young 
men's  natures  neglected.  In  addition  to  the 
Sunday  session  for  study,  a  weekly  class  prayer- 
meeting  was  held  and  the  "secret  service"  estab- 
lished. This  came  a  few  years  later  as  a  result 
of  the  fact  that  while  there  was  a  large  and  grow- 
ing membership,  amounting  to  as  high  as  two 
hundred  and  ten,  there  were  almost  no  conver- 
sions, although  the  great  majority  were  not  pro- 
fessing Christians.  The  teacher  invited  four  who 
were  Christians  to  meet  for  consultation  over  the 


76      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

matter,  and  they  agreed  (i)  to  pray  every  noon 
for  the  unconverted  members;  (2)  to  keep  a  list 
of  those  spoken  to  about  their  salvation,  and  (3) 
to  meet  the  secret  service  members  for  prayer 
,and  conference  once  a  month.  The  desired 
results  soon  followed,  and  up  to  the  present 
over  two  hundred  young  men  have  been  con- 
verted, most  of  them  joining  that  church.  This 
remarkable  result  is  attributed  by  the  founder 
not  at  all  to  his  teaching,  although  as  a  commer- 
cial traveler  he  early  learned  how  to  influence 
men,  but  rather  to  the  prayer  and  personal  work 
of  the  secret  service. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  work  of  the  class 
was  known  outside  of  its  boundaries  and  others 
began  to  be  established  on  its  lines,  irrespec- 
tive of  denomination.  For,  although  originating 
in  a  Baptist  church,  the  movement  is  in  no  way 
sectarian,  and  there  are  classes  in  nearly  all  de- 
nominations. In  1898  representatives  from  the 
various  classes  met  at  Utica,  New  York,  and 
organized  the  Baraca  Union  of  America.  "This 
Union  is  composed  of  all  classes  taking  the 
Baraca  name  and  methods,  for  the  purpose  of 
stimulating  among  young  men  the  desire  for 
Christian  knowledge  and  to  provide  means  by 
which  this  may  be  attained,  to  create  an  interest 
in  and  support  the  Sunday  Bible  school,  and  to 
unite  its  members  in  practical  sympathy  and 
service." 

With  the   formation  of  the  Union  the  Baraca 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  ^'J 

idea  spread  rapidly,  until  it  is  estimated  that 
there  are  now  one  thousand  classes  with  fifty 
thousand  members,  mostly  in  the  United  States, 
but  also  in  Canada,  England,  Scotland,  and  Porto 
Rico.  Three  thousand  conversions  were  reported 
last  year  as  due  at  least  in  part  to  their  efforts. 
The  Union  has  its  headquarters  at  Syracuse,  Mr. 
Hudson  being  president.  A  large  line  of  printed 
matter  is  published  detailing  methods  of  work, 
and  also  an  eight-page  monthly  paper,  World- 
Wide  Baraca,  samples  of  all  of  which  may  be  had 
on  application.  Annual  conventions  are  held 
for  inspiration  and  conference  and  the  promotion 
of  the  movement. 

A  similar  work  for  young  women  is  conducted 
by  Philathea  classes  in  affiliation  with  the  Baraca, 
there  being  some  three  hundred  of  such. 

Membership  in  the  Baraca  class  is  open  to  all 
men  over  sixteen  who  register  as  members  on 
attendance  slips  passed  to  all  present  at  each 
study  session.  There  are  no  obligations  or 
pledges  of  any  sort,  but  those  absent  for  four 
consecutive  Sundays  without  excuse  are 
dropped. 

The  officers,  who  are  elected  semi-annually, 
consist  of:  (i)  president,  who  opens  and  closes 
each  session  and  calls  on  the  teacher  to  conduct 
the  study;  (2)  vice-president;  (3)  secretary;  (4) 
treasurer;  (5)  librarian;  (6)  standard  bearer;  (7) 
press  reporter,  who  furnishes  the  newspapers 
with  items  about  the  class  and  secures  subscrip- 


yS  THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

tions  for  the  Baraca  paper;  (8)  teacher,  and  one 
or  more  assistants  as  desired.  The  committees 
are  appointed  by  the  executive  committee,  com- 
posed of  the  officers,  and  are:  (i)  hustlers,  who 
build  up  the  attendance  by  personal  work,  in- 
viting church  attendants  to  remain,  and  visiting 
others;  (2)  membership,  who  invite  visitors  to 
become  members  and  visit  absentees;  (3)  music; 
(4)  literary,  providing  debates,  lecture  courses 
and  the  like;  (5)  athletic,  for  both  indoor  and 
outdoor  sports. 

The  class  is  regarded  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  Sunday-school,  meeting  with  it  always  for 
the  opening  and  at  its  pleasure  for  the  closing 
exercises.  The  Baraca  platform  is  thus  stated: 
"Young  men  at  work  for  young  men,  all  standing 
by  the  Bible  and  the  Bible  school.*'  To  its 
adherence  to  these  principles  much  of  its  suc- 
cess has  been  due.  Another  reason  lies  in  the 
following  statement  by  the  founder:  "We  aim  in 
our  organization  to  make  each  man  feel  that  it  is 
his  class,  and  not  the  property  of  the  teacher. 
We  try  to  arouse  a  strong  class  spirit,  an  enthusi- 
asm for  the  Baraca,  and  pride  in  its  success.** 

Frequent  rally  days,  usually  one  a  month  in 
addition  to  special  occasions,  help  to  keep  up 
the  attendance.  The  order  of  exercises  sug- 
gested is  as  follows: 

1.  Call  to  order  by  president,  prayer,  and 
music. 

2.  Distribution  of  attendance  blanks. 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  79 

3.  Notices  by  secretary,  including  cases  of 
sickness  or  need. 

4.  Collection  by  treasurer. 

5.  Lesson  by  teacher  (thirty  minutes),  who 
closes  with  prayer. 

6.  Reports  of  secretary  and  treasurer. 

7.  "Friendly  shake"  service  and  adjournment. 
The  attendance  slip  has  spaces   for  recording 

church  attendance,  both  for  that  morning  and 
the  preceding  Sunday  evening,  and  a  greeting  to 
visitors. 

A  more  recent  outgrowth  of  the  movement  is 
the  establishment  of  junior  classes,  for  boys 
under  sixteen,  thus  helping  to  insure  its  per- 
manence. 

The  simplicity  and  elasticity  of  the  Baraca 
plan  for  young  men's  Bible  classes  make  it 
available  for  use  in  almost  any  school,  whether  in 
city,  town  or  country.  Its  evident  merits  easily 
account  for  its  rapid  growth,  and  its  founder 
appears  to  be  justified  in  saying  that  "it  seems 
destined  to  circle  the  globe."  If  this  be  real- 
ized, much  progress  will  be  made  in  the  solution 
of  the  problem  of  how  to  promote  the  spiritual 
birth  and  growth  of  young  men. 

4.  Other  classes.  For  the  sake  of  those  who 
wish  further  acquaintance  with  the  method  and 
results  of  young  men's  Bible  classes,  the  follow- 
ing partial  list  of  those  from  whom  reports  were 
received  is  given.  Only  such  special  features 
are  mentioned  in  each  case  as  are  not  given  else- 


80     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

where.     The  location  is  stated  first,  followed  by 
the  name  of  the  school  and  of  the  class  leader. 

Lynn,  Massachusetts,  Washington  Avenue 
Baptist,  Mr.  Albion  Bartlett.  Has  a  varied  and 
attractive  musical  service,  with  short  address; 
attendance  as  high  as  four  hundred;  contributes 
largely  to  church  support. 

Chelsea,  Massachusetts,  First  Baptist,  Mr.  W. 
E.  Perry.  Printed  order  of  exercises,  new  for 
each  session;  educational  classes  during  the 
week;  business  talks  by  successful  men. 

Hartford,  Connecticut,  Fourth  Congregational, 
Professor  G.  E.  Dawson.  Discusses  life  problems 
for  young  men;  two  Sundays  devoted  to  each 
topic,  one  for  lecture  and  one  for  informal  con- 
ference; material  drawn  from  the  Bible,  science, 
and  practical  experience. 

New  York  City,  Memorial  Baptist,  Rev.  Edward 
Judson,  D.D.,  pastor.  Sunday  evening  tea  for 
members  and  friends. 

New  York  City,  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist,  Mr.  J. 
D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.  A  careful  system  of  follow- 
ing up  visitors  and  absentees;  a  club  house  adjoin- 
ing the  church  building  for  institutional  features 
during  the  week,  several  young  men  residing  in 
the  house. 

Canton,  Ohio,  First  Baptist,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Camp- 
bell.    Motto:  "That  other  fellow.*' 

Warren,  Ohio,   First  Baptist,  Rev.  C.  F.  Ral- 
ston.    Gives  attenton  to  local  municipal  affairs. 
Dayton,    Ohio,     First    Baptist,     Mr.     E.     M. 


THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  8l 

Thresher.  Good  Samaritan  society  for  relief  of 
members.  Motto;  "Look  up,  and  not  down; 
look  forward,  and  not  back;  look  out,  and  not 
in;  and  lend  a  hand." 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  First  Baptist,  Rev.  H.  T. 
Crane.     Monthly  visits  to  places  of  interest. 

Detroit,  Michigan,  Woodward  Avenue  Baptist, 
Mr.  W.  C.  Sprague.  An  afternoon  class  made 
up  mainly  of  those  whose  employment  prevents 
attendance  upon  the  regular  session  of  the  school. 

Grand^  Rapids,  Michigan,  First  Baptist,  Rev. 
J.  H.  Randall,  pastor.  Discusses  practical  social 
problems. 

Chicago,  Illinois,  Forty-first  Street  Presby- 
terian, Mr.  H.  S.  Osborne.  Boarding  house  and 
information  bureau;  recently  gave  a  stereopticon 
to  the  church;  publishes  a  monthly  paper  for  the 
church,  also  a  manual  containing  class  directory 
and  detailed  suggestions  for  committees;  sys- 
tematic canvass  of  district.  The  weekly  printed 
bulletin  says:  "This  class  is  a  brotherhood  for 
the  cultivation  of  supreme  love  for  God  and  com- 
panionship with  Him,  and  unselfish  self-denying 
love  for  each  other  and  our  fellow  men.  This  is 
accomplished  by  prayer,  Bible  study,  fellowship 
and  service." 

Chicago,  Englewood  Baptist,  Mr.  J.  A.  Johnson. 
Weekly  mimeographed  bulletin  of  general  and 
personal  information. 

Chicago,  Belden  Avenue  Baptist,  Mr.  O.  S. 
Edwards.      Publishes  a  weekly  class  paper  (with- 


82      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

out  advertisements),  containing  editorials,  news, 
announcements  and  lesson  questions  for  next 
Sunday  (an  independent  course  of  study  being 
followed),  and  also  attendance,  by  districts,  for 
the  previous  Sunday;  division  of  membership 
into  districts  with  a  leader  for  each,  and  friendly 
rivalry;  open  house  two  nights  a  week  and 
prayer-meeting  on  a  third,  with  a  distinctly  evan- 
gelistic purpose  and  results.  No  collections  are 
taken,  all  expenses  being  met  by  voluntary  pledges 
payable  personally  to  the  treasurer. 

Chicago,  Immanuel  Baptist,  Mr.  Henry  Bond. 
Orchestra  for  study  session  and  entertainments; 
paid  secretary,  who  gives  his  whole  time  to 
furthering  the  interests  of  the  class  and  any 
who  need  its  help;  finding  young  men  in  board- 
ing houses  and  elsewhere  who  have  recently 
come  to  the  city;  church  building  open  the  entire 
time  each  day  and  evening. 

The  work  of  men's  classes  in  Chicago  has 
been  furthered  by  the  establishment  of  a  special 
department  for  it  in  the  Cook  County  Sunday- 
school  Association  and  the  adoption  of  a  button- 
hole badge,  a  small  white  circle  within  a  red  one. 
A  similar  department  has  recently  been  estab- 
lished in  the  Illinois  Association,  and  there  is  a 
prospect  of  the  movement  spreading  to  other 
states. 

A  detailed  description  of  the  Ailing  class  of  the 
Central  Presbyterian  Church  of  Rochester,  New 
York,  is  given  in  Modern  Methods  in  Church  Work^ 


THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  83 

pages  167-172.  Other  classes  with  methods 
similar  to  those  already  given  are  described  in 
The  Sunday  School  Times,  1899,  No.  25;  1900,  Nos. 
26,  40  and  51;  1901,  Nos.  16  and  34. 

There  is  one  danger  confronting  the  large 
class  with  a  highly-developed  organization,  not 
peculiar  to  it  but  worth  attention  here.  It  is 
that  the  class  shall  come  to  regard  itself  as  if  not 
superior  to  at  least  aloof  from  the  school  and 
church  of  which  it  is  legitimately  a  part.  This 
is  well  expressed  by  one  pastor  who  lives  not 
very  far  from  one  of  the  large  classes  before  men- 
tioned: "There  is  the  same  danger  here  as  in  the 
young  people's  society,  namely,  that  the  young 
men  are  united  to  an  organization  many  times 
rather  than  to  Christ  and  the  church.  I  under- 
stand that  in  there  is  little  interest  on 

the  part  of  the  young  men  in  the  church.  There 
is  something  fundamentally  wrong  in  such 
methods." 

That  such  a  state  of  affairs,  however,  is  not  a 
necessary  result,  and  that  quite  the  reverse  can  be 
attained,  is  evident  from  the  more  than  two  hun- 
dred conversions  in  the  original  Baraca  class, 
and  also  from  this  statement  concerning  the  class 
at  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  already  mentioned  by 
its  founder,  Rev.  C.  S.  Cooper:  "About  one 
hundred  members  of  the  class,  many  of  them 
with  their  families,  have  been  received  into  the 
church  and  are  among  its  most  valiant  support- 
ers.     At   a  class  meeting  not  long  ago,  several 


84      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

hundred  dollars  was  pledged  in  weekly  offerings 
for  church  support,  and  in  great  measure  by 
those  who  were  not  members  of  the  church. 
Furthermore,  the  men  who  come  into  the  church 
from  the  class  begin  almost  at  once  to  give  for 
its  support  and  to  take  special  positions  in  the 
Sunday-school  and  other  departments  of  the 
church  proper.  There  is  a  class  spirit  which  is 
intentionally  built  up  in  order  to  attract  and 
hold  the  young  men  whom  the  church  proper 
would  never  reach.  With  wise  management,  I 
see  no  reason  for  alarm  in  the  use  of  such 
organizations  in  connection  with  our  churches. 
Anyhow,  a  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits." 

From  the  foregoing  it  clearly  appears  that  the 
young  men's  Bible  class,  organized  along  some 
of  the  lines  indicated,  emphasizing  Bible  study 
and  the  spiritual  life  as  primary,  and  also  con- 
ducting such  secondary  work  as  its  situation 
may  justify,  has  in  it  very  large  possibilities  for 
effective  service  in  furthering  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  young  men,  on  the  whole  probably  sur- 
passing any  other  single  organization  within  a 
local  church. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE'S  SOCIETY 
A.    GENERAL  SURVEY 

One  of  the  marked  features  of  church  life  in 
recent  years  has  been  the  largely  increased  part 
taken  by  young  people,  especially  through  the 
agency  of  societies  of  various  forms  and  names 
to  which  both  sexes  belong.  The  existence  of 
such  societies,  however,  is  by  no  means  new.  As 
far  back  as  1724  there  were  a  few  such  in  New 
England,  as  appears  from  a  little  book  published 
in  that  year  by  Cotton  Mather,  entitled  Proposals 
for  the  Revival  of  a  Dying  Religion  by  Well 
Ordered  Societies.  "Such  societies,"  he  writes, 
"have  been  tried  and  proved  to  be  strong  engines 
to  uphold  the  power  of  godliness."  But  the 
Puritan  fathers  evidently  frowned  upon  the  dan- 
gerous innovation  of  the  young  folks,  for  the 
movement  soon  died  out.^ 

The  modern  development  of  the  young  people's 
society  is  practically  contemporaneous  with  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  movement,  which 
originated  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  F.  E. 
Clark,  D.D.,  in  the  Williston  Congregational 
Church  of  Portland,  Maine,  in  1881.     There  were 

>  Training  the  Church  of  the  Future^  pp.  9<>93. 
85 


86      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

already  hundreds  of  societies  in  existence 
throughout  the  land,  which  in  various  ways  and 
with  varying  success  were  seeking  to  further  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  young  people.  But  this  one 
had  so  many  good  features  that  it  commended 
itself  to  others,  and  as  soon  as  its  plans  became 
widely  known  was  taken  as  a  pattern  by  both  old 
and  new  societies  everywhere,  until  to-day  there 
is  in  the  United  States  a  membership  of  over 
I,8(X),000,  and  a  large  number  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. 

A  marked  and  highly  valued  feature  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  movement  has  been  its  feder- 
ation of  young  people  of  many  different  denom- 
inations, thus  emphasizing  the  essential  unity  in 
faith  and  service  of  those  whose  little  differences 
too  often  keep  them  asunder  and  so  hinder  the 
growth  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  following 
list  of  denominations  in  the  Christian  Endeavor 
federation  is  given  by  Dr.  Clark:  "Practically  all 
the  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  Disciples, 
Christians,  Moravians,  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
Reformed  Church  of  America,  Reformed  Church 
in  the  United  States,  United  Evangelical,  Re- 
formed Episcopal,  Methodist  Protestants,  Primi- 
tive Methodists,  Free  Baptists,  Mennonites, 
Church  of  God,  Friends,  and  African  Methodists; 
large  sections  of  Baptists,  Lutherans,  United  Pres- 
byterians and  United  Brethren,  and  smaller  sec- 
tions of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  and  Methodist 
Episcopal    churches.      Surely    this    is    a  goodly 


1%  p  A  ^ 


vjnwe^^^' 


THE  YOUNG   PEOPLE's   SOCIETY  87 

federation  to  have  grown  up  virtually  in  twenty 
years."  * 

As  indicated  in  this  statement,  there  are  several 
societies  whose  membership  is  confined  to  some 
one  denomination.  These  owe  their  existence 
partly  to  a  zeal  for  particular  interpretations  of 
Scripture,  which  it  is  feared  young  people  will 
underrate  if  brought  into  the  wider  Christian 
Endeavor  fellowship.  Another  cause  has  been 
the  desire  to  provide  more  thorough  instruction 
both  in  Scripture  and  Christian  history  than  the 
Endeavor  plan  offered.  Yet  again,  the  vast  pro- 
portions of  the  Endeavor  movement  have  seemed 
to  some  a  positive  hindrance  to  the  maintenance 
of  a  healthy  individualism,  which  no  denomina- 
tion can  afford  to  lose.  "There  is  yet  to  be 
worked  out,"  says  a  pastor  of  long  experience, 
"a  perfect  plan  of  cooperation  between  the 
Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 
and  the  denominational  societies.  The  latter 
have  their  reason  for  existence  in  the  perpetua- 
tion of  denominational  individuality  and  the  pro- 
motion of  denominational  activity;  the  latter  has 
the  advantage  of  wider  Christian  unity  and  cooper- 
ation." There  are  about  2,5CX),(XXD  members  of 
such  denominational  organizations,  swelling  the 
total  membership  of  all  young  people's  societies 
in  the  United  States  to  nearly  or  quite  4,500,000, 
exclusive  of  boys  and  girls. 

The  possibilities  within  these  millions  of  young: 

» Training  the  Church  of  the  Future,  p.  202. 


8S  THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Christians  for  the  advancement  of  "the  church 
of  the  future,*'  and  in  no  small  degree  the 
church  of  the  present  as  well,  is  beyond  calcu- 
lation. From  the  standpoint  of  their  own  welfare 
also,  the  importance  of  their  development  in 
spiritual  life  and  their  efficient  training  in  Chris- 
tian service  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  Since 
over  1,500,000  of  them  are  young  men,  a  con- 
sideration of  the  young  people's  society  as  an 
agency  for  their  spiritual  betterment  claims  a 
place  in  this  study. 

B.    PURPOSE 

From  the  history  of  the  movement  it  appears 
that  the  young  people's  society  is  not  a  product 
of  revolution  but  rather  of  evolution,  in  the 
wider  sense  of  that  much  abused  word.  It  is  a 
natural  development,  due  to  an  increase  of  spirit- 
ual life  within  the  church  and  changing  condi- 
tions without.  The  quickened  life  of  the  age,  in 
its  ever  multiplying  activities,  demanded  a  cor- 
responding quickening  of  life  within  the  church,  if 
it  would  keep  its  position.  The  greatly  increased 
participation  of  young  people  in  all  other  affairs 
of  life  demanded  a  like  increased  participation  in 
the  affairs  of  the  church,  if  it  would  keep  them 
within  its  fold.  The  young  people's  society  is 
the  answer  of  the  church  to  these  demands,  and 
thus  presents  a  new  evidence  of  its  vitality  as  a 
living  body,  capable  of  adjusting  its  organism 
to  changed  environment.      The  young   people's 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   SOCIETY  89 

society  has  a  distinct  function  in  the  ecclesias- 
tical body,  that  of  training  young  Christians.  As 
such  a  local  society  is  not  a  thing  apart  from 
the  church  with  which  it  is  connected,  as  too 
often  an  utterly  inexcusable  spirit  of  rivalry  and 
even  insubordination  seem  to  make  it.  Speaking 
of  this  relation  Dr.  Clark  says:  "It  was  and  is  the 
church,  a  part  of  the  church,  and  the  church 
training  the  young.  It  is  the  church  meeting 
in  the  young  people's  service,  the  church  work- 
ing in  its  young  people's  committees,  the  church 
praying  through  the  voices  of  its  youth. "^ 

The  following  extracts  from  the  constitutions 
of  three  societies,  being  in  each  case  models  sug- 
gested by  the  national  organizations,  will  clearly 
define  their  purposes  and  serve  as  types  of  all. 

Christian  Endeavor:  "The  object  of  this 
society  shall  be  to  promote  an  earnest  Christian 
life  among  its  members,  to  increase  their  mutual 
acquaintance,  and  to  make  them  more  useful  in 
the  service  of  God." 

Baptist  Union:  "The  object  of  this  union  shall 
be  to  secure  the  increased  spirituality  of  our  Bap- 
tist young  people,  their  stimulation  in  Christian 
service,  their  edification  in  Scripture  knowledge, 
their  instruction  in  Baptist  doctrine  and  history, 
and  their  enlistment  in  all  missionary  activity 
through  existing  denominational  organizations.** 

Epworth  League  (Methodist):  "The  object  of 
the  league    is  to  promote   intelligent   and   vital 

»  Trainins  the  Church  of  the  Future^  p.  loi. 


QO      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

piety  in  the  young  members  and  friends  of  the 
church,  to  aid  them  in  the  attainment  of  purity  of 
heart  and  in  constant  growth  in  grace,  and  to 
train  them  in  works  of  mercy  and  help." 

C.    MEMBERSHIP   BASIS 

How  old  must  one  be  and  how  old  must  one 
not  be  in  order  to  belong  to  a  young  people's 
society?  The  former  of  these  questions  is  more 
readily  answered  than  the  latter.  The  growth 
of  junior  societies  has  provided  for  boys  and 
girls  up  to  about  twelve,  and  the  more  recent 
establishment  of  intermediate  societies  has  taken 
care  of  those  under  sixteen.  But  as  yet  no  gradu- 
ate society  as  such  exists,  unless  the  larger  church 
organization  be  so  considered,  as  indeed  it  may 
well  be.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  in  general  the 
age  limits  set  in  this  study,  from  sixteen  to 
thirty-five  inclusive,  hold  fairly  well  in  young 
people's  societies,  especially  for  young  men, 
there  being  few  beyond  either  extreme.  In  the 
Endeavor  societies,  and  commonly  with  others 
as  well,  there  are  three  classes  of  members: 
active,  associate,  and  honorary.  The  last  named 
are  usually  few  and  of  little  consequence;  the 
second  are  commonly  expected  to  get  into  the 
first  class  in  due  time,  being  not  yet  professed 
Christians;  the  first  alone  concern  our  purpose. 

Article  III  of  the  Endeavor  constitution  thus 
defines  active  membership:  "The  active  mem- 
bers   of   this    society  shall  consist  of  all  young 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLES     SOCIETY  QI 

persons  who  believe  themselves  Christians  and 
who  sincerely  desire  to  accomplish  the  objects 
above  specified.  Voting  power  shall  be  vested 
only  in  the  active  members."  Other  societies 
have  substantially  the  same  rule.  A  further 
requirement  of  Endeavor  membership  is  con- 
tained in  Article  VIII:  "All  persons  on  becom- 
ing active  members  of  the  society  shall  sign  the 
following  pledge:  Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  for  strength,  I  promise  Him  that  I  will 
strive  to  do  whatever  He  would  like  to  have  me 
do;  that  I  will  make  it  the  rule  of  my  life  to  pray 
and  to  read  the  Bible  every  day,  and  to  support 
my  own  church  in  every  way,  especially  by 
attending  her  regular  Sunday  and  mid-week 
services,  unless  prevented  by  some  reason  that  I 
can  conscientiously  give  to  my  Saviour;  and  that, 
just  as  far  as  I  know  how,  throughout  my  whole 
life  I  will  endeavor  to  lead  a  Christian  life.  As 
an  active  member  I  promise  to  be  present  at  and 
to  take  some  part,  aside  from  singing,  in  every 
Christian  Endeavor  prayer-meeting,  unless  hin- 
dered by  some  reason  that  I  can  conscientiously 
give  to  my  Lord  and  Master.  If  obliged  to  be 
absent  from  the  monthly  consecration  meeting  I 
will,  if  possible,  send  at  least  a  verse  of  Scripture 
to  be  read  in  response  to  my  name  at  the  roll 
call.*  *'  The  Epworth  League,  Baptist  Union, 
and  other  societies  have  similar  pledges,  variously 
worded  but  agreeing  in  binding  the  signer  to  a 
general  observance  of  the  requirements  of  Chris- 


92      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

tian  living  and  some  active  participation  in  the 
prayer-meeting.  In  some  societies  the  pledge  is 
optional,  and  that  of  the  Union  adds:  "if  it  is 
possible  to  do  so  with  sincerity  and  truth." 

The  pledge  has  long  been  a  bone  of  contention. 
Dr.  Clark  says:  "When  the  pledge  is  carefully 
studied,  it  will  be  seen  that  only  the  common 
duties  of  the  Christian  life  are  demanded;  private 
prayer  and  Bible  study,  outspoken  confession  of 
Christ  before  men,  and  loyalty  to  Christ's  church. 
All  this  is  embodied  in  every  church  covenant. 
It  is  here  made  specific  and  definite  for  imma- 
ture and  inexperienced  Christians."*  Apart  from 
the  matter  of  particpation  in  the  prayer-meeting, 
probably  few  persons  will  object  to  such  a  pledge 
save  those  who  have  a  general  objection  to  all 
vows  in  connection  with  spiritual  life,  holding  that 
they  are  contrary  to  the  New  Testament  idea  of 
freedom  in  Christ.  Taken  as  a  whole,  however, 
it  undoubtedly  proves  a  stumbling  block  to  many 
conscientious  young  people  and  keeps  them  out 
of  the  society,  thus  depriving  it  of  the  cooperation 
of  those  who  would  otherwise  be  most  valuable 
members.  This  is  especially  true  of  young  men, 
who  commonly  take  a  more  serious  view  of  such 
matters  than  young  women.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  ease  with  which  its  solemn  obligations  are 
assumed  by  many  others,  only  to  be  if  possible 
more  easily  broken  time  and  again,  results  unques- 
tionably in  a  lowering  of  moral  tone  and  a  weak- 

»  Training  the  Church  of  the  Future,  p.  186. 


THE   YOUNG  PEOPLE'S   SOCIETY  93 

ening  of  character.  It  is  certainly  open  to  question 
whether,  on  the  whole  and  in  the  long  run,  there 
would  not  be  a  decided  net  gain  from  the  entire 
abandonment  of  the  pledge.  It  is  at  best  and 
confessedly  a  crutch  for  the  weak,  "for  immature 
and  inexperienced  Christians"  its  originator  says, 
and  it  probably  keeps  more  in  that  condition 
through  dependence  on  it  than  it  helps  to  a  strong 
virile  manhood  in  Christ.  It  is  the  prayer-meeting 
feature  that  arouses  the  most  objection,  and  some 
consideration  will  be  given  to  it  in  the  next 
section. 

Professor  Coe,  whose  helpful  book  on  The 
Spiritual  Life  has  already  been  quoted,  writes  as 
follows  in  a  personal  letter:  "A  vow  is  either  a 
promise  made  to  men  or  one  made  to  God.  If 
made  to  men  its  performance  should  be  based 
upon  some  actual  claim  which  one  man  has,  mor- 
ally at  least,  upon  another,  and  in  that  case  it  is 
in  morals  what  a  contract  is  in  law.  On  the  other 
hand  a  promise  made  to  God  can  not  possibly 
have  this  character.  It  is  nothing  more  than  a  rec- 
ognition of  duty  and  a  resolution  to  do  it.  If,  at 
any  future  time,  a  new  and  contradictory  notion 
of  duty  is  acquired,  the  earlier  vow  becomes  null 
and  void,  since  we  are  required  always  to  live  up 
to  our  present  light. 

"Is  the  vow  taken  upon  admission  to  the  vari- 
ous young  people's  societies  a  promise  to  men  or 
one  to  God?  If  to  men,  this  quality  of  it  should 
be  clearly  brought  out,  and  it  should  be  enforced 


94      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

by  the  persons  to  whom  the  promise  is  made  and 
who,  as  before  said,  have  some  kind  of  moral  claim 
upon  the  maker.  Either  the  promise  should  not 
be  made  at  all,  or  else  it  should  be  enforced,  if 
necessary,  with  penalties.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
it  is  a  promise  made  to  God  it  must,  in  order  to 
be  valid  at  all,  express  something  that  God  is  sup- 
posed to  require  of  us,  and  even  then  we  must  be 
open  to  new  convictions  as  to  what  He  requires. 
In  this  case,  therefore,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
promise  can  properly  become  a  public  matter. 
At  most  it  should  be  a  private  resolution.  The 
vow  is  lacking  in  clear  ethical  discrimination.  It 
is  not  clearly  an  expression  of  the  claims  of  one 
man  upon  another,  and  is  surely  not  a  recognition 
of  any  clear  demand  which  God  makes  upon  us. 
It  tends  therefore  to  confuse  and  then  to  sophisti- 
cate the  conscience.'* 

D.    CONFESSION    OF    CHRIST 

I.  Value  of  Testimony.  Public  confession  of 
Himself  was  declared  by  Christ  to  be  requisite  to 
His  confession  of  the  believer  "before  the  Father 
who  is  in  heaven."  It  is  one  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  psychology  that  self-expression  pro- 
motes growth.  There  is  thus  both  a  divine  and 
human  sanction  for  some  form  of  personal  par- 
ticipation in  public  religious  exercises  which  shall 
express  devotion  to  Christ.  In  the  young  people's 
societies  a  valuable  opportunity  of  this  sort  is 
furnished  by  the  weekly  prayer-meeting,  and  one 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE  S    SOCIETY  95 

which    the  young  believer   can   ill  afford  to   let 
slip. 

2.  Compulsory  testimony.  So  far  all  will  be 
agreed,  but  when  it  is  proposed  that  an  "inex- 
perienced and  immature  Christian"  shall  solemnly 
bind  himself  to  do  this  on  every  such  occasion, 
disagreement  at  once  arises.  To  be  sure,  this 
participation  may  be  only  the  reading  of  Scrip- 
ture, but  the  emphasis  is  so  laid  upon  personal 
testimony  that  this  is  practically  regarded  as  the 
primary  if  not  the  only  means  of  keeping  the 
pledge.  That  such  requirement  does  help  some 
faltering  young  confessors  is  not  for  a  moment 
denied,  but  regard  must  also  be  had  to  the  harm 
it  unquestionably  does  to  many  others.  In 
addition  to  the  considerations  against  the  pledge 
in  general,  presented  at  the  close  of  the  pre- 
ceding section,  the  following  are  submitted 
against  this  feature  in  particular.  Compulsory 
testimony  puts  the  emphasis  upon  having  to  say 
something,  not  much  matter  what,  rather  than 
upon  having  something  to  say.  It  thus  fosters 
glibness  at  the  expense  of  thought  in  a  region 
where  the  most  careful  thinking  ought  to  be  the 
rule.  It  tends  to  superficiality  in  matters  of  pro- 
foundest  depth  and  promotes  triviality  in  the 
most  weighty  affairs  of  life,  those  that  have  to 
do  with  the  soul.  In  each  of  these  ways  it 
does  positive  harm  to  divinely-given  mental 
powers.  It  seeks  to  draw  water  out  of  a  cistern, 
too  often  broken  and  empty,  whereas  the  cistern 


96      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

should  be  fed  with  underground  streams  of 
Christian  love  and  service  until  it  becomes  an 
overflowing  fountain.  Saddest  of  all,  but  un- 
questionably true  in  many  cases,  compulsory 
testimony  directly  fosters  hypocrisy.  The  "im- 
mature and  inexperienced  Christian' '  feels  obliged 
to  say  something,  he  repeats  what  he  hears  older 
ones  say,  and  even  Scripture  passages  that  cor- 
rectly describe  the  experiences  of  others  but 
which  do  not  at  all  describe  his  own,  and  this  un- 
conscious deception  of  himself  leads  easily  and  all 
too  often  to  the  deliberate  deception  of  others. 
In  the  course  of  over  twenty  years  the  writer  has 
heard  a  great  many  testimonies  in  the  meetings 
of  many  different  young  people's  societies.  He 
is  reasonably  sure  that  every  one  that  was  worth 
giving  was  given  not  because  of  the  compulsion 
of  a  pledge  but  out  of  a  heart  full  of  love  for 
Christ,  and  so  would  have  been  given  without  it. 
He  is  equally  sure  that  those  which  were  given 
under  such  compulsion  did  no  good  to  the 
hearers  but  only  harm  to  the  speaker,  while  the 
many  who  violated  the  pledge  were  unquestion- 
ably weakened  in  character  thereby.  As  one 
pastor  writes:  "The  pledge  deadens  spiritual  life 
by  making  callous  the  conscience  through  re- 
peated disobedience." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  while  three-fourths  of 
the  eighty-five  societies  reporting  on  this  point 
rightly  lay  emphasis  upon  testimony  as  a  means 
of  spiritual  growth,  a  much  smaller  proportion  re- 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE's   SOCIETY  97 

quire  it,  and  a  still  smaller  proportion  of  those 
who  require  a  pledge  to  this  effect  use  any  means 
to  secure  its  observance.  Bad  as  it  is  to  let  an 
ordinance  become  a  dead  letter,  in  this  case  it 
may  be  good,  especially  if  it  leads  to  the  ultimate 
repeal  of  a  regulation  that  is  a  help  to  some  but 
a  hurt  to  far  more.  It  will  be  gladly  admitted 
that  young  people's  prayer-meetings  have  become 
a  great  power  for  good,  that  untold  streams  of 
spiritual  blessing  have  resulted  from  the  union 
of  the  rills  of  devotion  and  personal  experience 
there  narrated,  but  they  are  not  properly  trace- 
able to  the  much  overworked  pledge  idea.  They 
have  come  not  because  of  it  but  rather  in  spite  of 
it,  and  the  sooner  it  is  removed  the  better  for  all 
concerned. 

3.  Character  of  testimony.  Nothing  has  been  said 
yet  as  to  what  this  testimony  should  consist  of 
in  order  to  be  of  the  most  help  to  both  speaker 
and  hearer.  Of  course  no  hard-and-fast  rules 
can  be  laid  down,  for  no  two  lives  are  identical, 
and  a  prime  requisite  of  all  testimony  based  on 
experience  is  that  it  be  true  to  the  facts  of  the 
case,  and  hence  it  will  be  infinitely  varied.  But 
some  suggestions  may  not  be  amiss. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  neither  pleasant  nor 
profitable  to  turn  oneself  inside  out  spiritually  in 
public.  The  injunction  to  "confess  your  sins 
one  to  another' '  does  not  need  to  be  obeyed 
on  the  street  corner  nor  in  the  prayer-meeting, 
at  least  not  in  gruesome  detail.     It  is  possible  to 


98      THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

be  a  Pharisee  in  parading  one's  sins.  Again, 
the  testimony  which  involves  introspection  and 
self-estimation  is  seldom  if  ever  productive  of 
good.  These  things  are  well  enough  in  their 
place,  if  practiced  in  a  moderate  degree  and  with- 
out morbidness.  There  is  probably  not  enough 
of  them  in  the  life  of  the  average  young  man. 
The  very  last  thing  many  of  them  want  to  do  is 
to  take  an  honest  searching  inventory  of  spiritual 
stock.  Such  a  process  would  often  bring  a  young 
man  to  his  senses  and  on  to  his  knees  in  short 
order,  Christian  though  he  be.  "It  is  a  good 
thing,"  writes  another  pastor,  "for  a  young  man 
to  do  some  thinking  about  himself  and  measure 
himself  according  to  a  standard.  It  is  well  for 
him  to  know  where  he  ought  to  be  and  where  he 
really  is."  But  the  place  for  this  is  in  private 
and  not  in  public,  even  the  semi-private  public 
of  a  small  prayer-meeting. 

Testimony  of  this  sort  requires  a  spiritual  pro- 
cess very  much  like  that  of  a  child  daily  dig- 
ging up  his  beans  to  see  how  much  they  have 
grown — interesting  to  him  but  hard  on  them. 
Much  of  our  best  spiritual  growth  is  out  of  sight 
of  the  world,  and  flourishes  best  when  not  made 
the  subject  of  an  anxious  curiosity.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  testimony  that  "looks  unto  Jesus,  the 
author  and  perfecter  of  our  faith";  that  exalts 
Him;  that  expresses  a  genuine  love  for  Him; 
that  says  little  or  nothing  of  one's  own  good 
deeds,  but  much    of  those   of  others;    that  will 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE  S   SOCIETY  QQ 

"help  your  fallen  brother  rise/'  giving  new 
courage  to  fearful  hearts,  "strengthening  weak 
hands  and  confirming  feeble  knees" — testimony 
of  this  sort  is  thrice  blessed  in  that  it  honors  the 
Master,  helps  the  hearer  and  strengthens  the 
speaker. 

4.  Length  of  meeting.  It  may  be  safely  said  that 
the  average  young  people's  meeting  is  too  long. 
This  applies  to  such  as  are  held  on  Sunday  even- 
ing, which  is  by  far  the  most  common  time  and, 
with  all  but  quite  large  societies,  probably  the 
best.  Beginning  from  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a 
quarter  or  even  an  hour  and  a  half  before  the  time 
of  public  worship,  they  drag  out  their  too  often 
weary  existence  to  such  a  length  as  to  dull  rather 
than  quicken  both  mental  and  spiritual  life.  Many 
of  those  in  attendance  imagine  themselves  excused 
from  any  responsibility  in  connection  with  the  fol- 
lowing service  and  do  not  remain,  while  many  that 
do  are  in  a  positively  poorer  condition  either  to 
help  or  be  helped  by  the  larger  and  on  the  whole 
more  important  meeting.  This  may  seem  over- 
critical  but  it  is  said  with  a  full  appreciation  of 
the  good  that  is  done  in  spite  of  the  protracted 
session,  and  is  moreover  based  on  a  somewhat 
long  experience  and  wide  observation.  The 
young  people's  meeting  is  not  primarily  a  service 
of  worship  and  hence  needs  no  elaborate  pro- 
gram. Neither  is  it  primarily  a  meeting  for 
instruction,  justifying  long  addresses  by  the  leader 
or  self-appointed  edifiers.      Its  primary  object  is 


100     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

the  mutual  strengthening  of  faith  in  and  love  for 
Christ  on  the  part  of  young  disciples  by  means  of 
Scripture,  hymns,  prayers,  and  testimonies,  such 
as  before  referred  to.  In  the  great  majority  of 
cases  this  can  easily  be  compassed  in  a  well- 
conducted  meeting  of  thirty  minutes,  or  forty  at 
the  most  in  the  case  of  larger  societies.  Then 
after  an  interval  of  five  minutes,  if  possible  in 
the  open  air,  the  young  men  and  young  women 
can  bring  to  the  support  of  the  evening  service  of 
worship  minds  that  have  not  been  dulled  by  a 
vitiated  atmosphere  and  spirits  that  have  not 
been  weighed  down  by  the  slow  dragging  of  a 
meeting  in  which  the  leader  must  continually 
remind  the  negligent  and  timid  of  their  pledged 
obligation  to  take  part.  So  conducted,  the  young 
people's  meeting  would  be  a  far  greater  source 
of  help  than  it  already  is  in  the  solution  of  the 
perplexing  Sunday  evening  problem,  that  burdens 
many  a  faithful  pastor  well-nigh  to  breaking.  So 
conducted,  too,  it  would  gain  the  support  of 
many  more  young  men,  for  it  would  be  active 
and  wide  awake,  qualities  which  attract  them  no 
less  surely  than  slowness  and  sleepiness  repel 
them. 

E.    SERVICE    FOR    CHRIST 

In  its  widest  sense  service  includes  confession, 
but  for  convenience  it  is  here,  as  commonly, 
applied  to  deeds  rather  than  words.  A  small  boy 
of   four   happy  summers   frequently  says  to  his 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   SOCIETY  lOI 


mother,  "I  can't  tell  you  how  much  I  love  you, 
but  I  can  do  things  to  show  you  how  much  I 
love  you."  One  day,  tired  of  his  usual  play,  he 
climbed  on  to  his  father's  knee  and  asked  for 
something  to  do.  On  being  told  just  to  love  his 
father  for  awhile,  he  protested,  "But  that  isn't 
any  doing."  The  child's  desire  for  something 
concrete  to  do,  for  some  tangible  way  in  which  to 
express  his  love,  has  its  counterpart  in  the  desire 
of  every  Christian  heart  to  engage  in  some  real 
service  that  shall  give  evidence  of  its  love  for 
Christ.  In  the  preceding  section  reference  was 
made  to  the  recognized  psychological  principle 
that  expression  promotes  growth,  and  it  was 
applied  to  prayer-meeting  testimony.  But 
deeds  are  as  truly  and  often  even  more  truly  than 
words  an  expression  of  the  inner  life.  One's 
daily  life  before  the  world  has  a  vastly  greater 
power  in  determining  his  spiritual  growth  than 
an  occasional  testimony  before  a  small  audience. 
What  one  actually  does  for  Christ  is  of  more 
importance  than  what  he  says  about  Christ. 
Both  faith  and  love  grow  more  through  their 
expression  in  deeds  than  in  words. 

Before  the  rise  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
movement  the  large  emphasis  in  young  people's 
societies  was  put  upon  instruction  and  confes- 
sion, and  its  distinct  contribution  may  fairly  be 
said  to  have  been  the  putting  of  an  equal  emphasis 
upon  service.  This  is  of  high  value  not  only,  as 
already  noted,  for  the  fostering  of  spiritual  growth, 


I02     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

but  also  for  furnishing  the  strong  foundation 
needed  in  the  periods  of  spiritual  unrest  that 
come  to  most  young  men  sooner  or  later.  There 
is  no  surer  anchorage  in  times  of  storm  and 
stress,  no  better  cure  for  spiritual  "blues,"  no 
better  preventive  of  distressing  doubt  than  whole- 
some hearty  activity  in  Christian  service.  "It 
is  just  this  normal,  healthy,  necessary  activity 
that  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society  attempts  to 
supply.  The  philosophy  of  its  success,  so  far 
as  it  has  been  successful,  is  that  it  fits  the  needs 
of  the  young  soul.  It  is  no  haphazard  experi- 
ment. Its  roots  run  down  into  the  nature  of 
youth."  *  The  chief  medium  for  this  concrete 
expression  of  love  to  Christ,  this  confession  of 
Him  by  deeds  of  service  for  Him,  is  furnished  in 
the  Endeavor  plan  by  offices  and  various  com- 
mittees. According  to  the  model  constitution 
these  are  the  following.  The  officers  are  presi- 
dent, vice-president,  corresponding  secretary, 
recording  secretary,  and  treasurer.  None  of 
these  need  any  explanation  save  possibly  the 
third,  whose  duty  is  "to  keep  the  local  society 
in  communication  with  the  state  and  local  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Unions  and  with  the  United 
Society"  (the  national  organization).  Four  com- 
mittees are  specified.  The  lookout  "brings  in 
new  members,  and  affectionately  looks  after 
and  reclaims  any  that  seem  indifferent  to  their 
duties  as  outlined  in  the  pledge."      Enough  per- 

1  Training  the  Church  of  the  Future,  p.  95. 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLES   SOCIETY  IO3 

haps  has  already  been  said  about  the  pledge,  but 
these  words  of  an  experienced  pastor  as  to  this 
means  of  enforcing  it  may  be  added:  "The  offi- 
cial surveillance  of  the  members  to  see  whether 
or  not  they  are  keeping  the  pledge,  and  to  call 
them  to  account  if  they  do  not  keep  it,  is  of 
doubtful  wisdom.  The  kind  of  fidelity  which  is 
produced  by  this  device  will  not  prove  to  be  the 
highest.  The  motive  to  which  these  methods 
appeal  is  far  from  being  the  noblest.  The 
society  would  better  depend  for  its  success  upon 
the  enthusiasm  for  some  good  work  which  it  can 
inspire  in  its  members,  than  upon  the  discipline 
which  it  can  exercise  over  them.  It  is  failing  to- 
day to  secure  the  cooperation  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  best  and  strongest  young  people  in 
our  churches,  whose  intelligence  and  conscien- 
tiousness it  greatly  needs,  because  it  insists  on 
these  mild  forms  of  censorship."  *  These  words 
are  especially  true  of  young  men,  whose  spirit 
of  independence  does  not  take  kindly  to  any  sort 
of  espionage,  however  moderate.  The  duties  of 
the  prayer-meeting  committee  are  to  provide 
topics  and  leaders  "and  to  do  what  it  can  to 
secure  faithfulness  to  the  prayer-meeting  pledge." 
The  social  committee  welcomes  strangers  and 
furthers  mutual  acquaintance  by  occasional  social 
gatherings.  The  executive  committee,  consisting 
of  the  pastor  and  all  officers  and  chairmen,  con- 
siders  all   matters   of  business  requiring  debate 

»  The  Christian  Pastor,  p.  322. 


I04     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

before  their  presentation  to  the  society.  All  com- 
^  mittees  except  the  last  present  a  written  report 
at  each  monthly  business  session,  ordinarily  held 
in  connection  with  a  prayer-meeting.  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  several  optional  committees  are 
provided  for:  information,  to  keep  the  society 
acquainted  with  Endeavor  work  throughout  the 
world;  Sunday-school,  for  any  desired  coopera- 
tion; calling;  music;  missionary,  to  interest  the 
society  in  home  and  foreign  missions,  and  furnish 
aid  in  any  practicable  manner;  flower,  for  church 
decoration  and  the  sick;  temperance;  good  liter- 
ature, to  promote  the  distribution  and  reading  of 
good  books  and  papers,  including  religious  tracts. 
There  are  still  other  forms  of  activity  which  the 
Endeavor  movement  has  either  originated  or 
taken  on  in  recent  years.  One  is  the  Tenth 
Legion,  which  is  not  a  formal  organization  but 
simply  "an  enrolment  of  Christians  whose  prac- 
tice it  is  to  give  to  God  for  His  work  not  less 
than' one-tenth  of  their  income.*'  There  are  no 
fees  nor  dues  of  any  sort.  Another  is  the  Quiet 
Hour,  also  simply  an  enrolment,  made  up  of 
those  who  set  apart  at  least  fifteen  minutes  a  day 
for  personal  communion  with  God.  Yet  another 
is  the  Macedonian  Phalanx,  "an  enrolment  of 
those  that  give  at  least  twenty  dollars  a  year 
to  the  support  of  individual  missionaries  and 
mission  workers.'*  Either  individuals  or  societies 
may  be  enrolled.  The  Home  Circle  is  a  move- 
ment for  the  promotion  of  religion  in  the  home,  es- 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE  S    SOCIETY  I05 

pecially  through  the  maintenance  of  the  invaluable 
but  sadly  neglected  institution  of  family  worship. 
The  Christian  Endeavor  Civic  Club  is  the 
most  formal  of  these  many  movements,  and  has 
for  now  ten  years  been  recognized  as  one  of  the 
departments  of  Endeavor  work.  Each  club  has 
a  definite  organization  with  officers  and  com- 
mittees, and  is  granted  a  numbered  charter  by 
the  United  Society.  The  object  is  thus  given  in 
the  model  constitution:  "The  promotion  of  a  bet- 
ter citizenship,  through  the  study  of  civic  prob- 
lems, through  training  in  debate  and  parliamentary 
practice,  and  through  such  active  participation  in 
public  affairs  as  maybe  practicable  and  proper.** 
That  there  is  a  large  need  for  such  training  of 
young  citizens,  and  older  ones  too,  is  all  too  evi- 
dent. Work  of  this  sort  certainly  appeals  to 
the  average  young  man  a  thousandfold  more  than 
the  petty  details,  however  necessary,  of  ordinary 
committee  work.  Under  wise  leadership,  which 
shall  avoid  the  rocks  of  mere  partizanship  and  the 
shoals  of  useless  discussion  of  unimportant  mat- 
ters, such  a  club  may  be  a  means  of  great  good 
not  only  to  the  members  but  to  the  community. 
It  may  also  render  large  service  to  the  church 
by  relieving  it  of  the  too  often  true  charge  that 
it  is  concerned  merely  with  other-world  affairs, 
that  it  is  a  device  for  getting  men  into  a  future 
and  far  away  heaven  rather  than,  as  Jesus  taught, 
the  sovereign  agency  for  the  promotion  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  here  and  now. 


I06     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Concerning  all  these  phases  of  Christian  activity 
furthered  by  the  Endeavor  movement  informa- 
tion may  be  found  in  Dr.  Clark's  book,  or  may  be 
had  from  the  United  Society,  Tremont  Temple, 
Boston,  Massachusetts. 

The  work  of  the  Epworth  League,  which  em- 
braces nearly  all  the  young  people's  societies 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  approximately  1,500,000,  is  divided 
into  four  departments,  as  follows:  (i)  Spiritual 
work,  including  the  prayer-meeting,  spiritual 
welfare  of  members,  personal  evangelism,  Bible 
study,  Sunday-school  interests,  the  morning 
watch,  open-air  meetings,  and  Junior  League. 
(2)  World  Evangelism,  including  a  study  of 
church  benevolences,  Christian  stewardship,  mis- 
sionary committee,  meetings,  study  classes,  mis- 
sionary library  and  literature,  and  cycle  of 
prayer.  (3)  Mercy  and  Help,  covering  system- 
atic visitation,  hospitals  and  other  charities,  care 
of  the  sick  and  poor,  temperance,  social  purity, 
and  good  citizenship.  (4)  Literary  and  Social 
Work,  including  general  literary  culture,  lectures, 
libraries,  church  literature,  music  for  all  meetings, 
promotion  of  social  life,  and  seeking  new  mem- 
bers. Each  of  these  departments  is  in  charge  of 
one  of  the  vice-presidents. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Baptist  Union 
is  its  emphasis  upon  "culture  for  service."  There 
are  three  courses  of  study:  (i)  Bible  Readers*, 
with    daily    assignments     and    brief    comments; 


THE    YOUNG   PEOPLE  S   SOCIETY  IO7 

(2)  Conquest  Missionary,  with  monthly  meetings 
for  the  study  of  home  and  foreign  missions;  and 

(3)  Sacred  Literature,  for  the  systematic  study  of 
Scripture,  church  history  and  Christian  doctrine. 
In  each  course  annual  written  examinations  are 
held  and  diplomas  awarded  by  the  national  offi- 
cers. The  headquarters  of  both  the  Union  and 
the  League  are  in  Chicago. 

Other  denominations  having  separate  societies 
have  still  different  plans  in  minor  details,  but  those 
given  will  suffice  to  indicate  the  great  and  varied 
work  being  carried  on  by  the  young  people's 
Societies  throughout  the  land.  The  array  of 
departments  and  committees  reminds  one  of 
Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  wheels  and  the  wheels 
within  wheels.  If,  like  those  which  the  prophet 
saw,  these  modern  wheels  have  "the  spirit  of  life 
within  them"  great  results  will  be  accomplished, 
as  indeed  is  largely  the  case.  But  it  takes  so  much 
power  just  to  make  "the  wheels  goVound"  of  this 
highly  geared  and  beautifully  built  religious  ma- 
chine that  there  is  too  often  little  or  none  left  for 
effective  service.  Many  a  society  needs  to  learn 
what  every  machinist  knows,  that  every  shaft, 
pulley,  belt,  and  cog  transmits  less  power  than  it 
receives.  The  simpler  the  machinery,  and  the 
nearer  the  point  of  the  application  of  power  is  to 
the  source  of  power,  the  greater  will  be  the  result, 
whether  that  power  be  of  wind,  water,  steam, 
electricity,  or  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Recognizing   with    devout    gratitude    all    that 


I08     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

these  thousands  of  societies  are  doing  in  real  and 
effective  Christian  service,  there  is  one  particular 
in  which  their  results  are  far  from  commensurate 
with  the  energy  consumed.  One  of  the  most 
important  questions  on  the  schedule  for  society 
reports  was:  "How  many  conversions  of  young 
men  the  past  twelve  months  are  traceable  primari- 
ly or  largely  or  partly  to  the  society?"  This  is 
admittedly  not  an  easy  question  to  answer,  for  in 
every  conversion  so  many  human  factors  play  a 
part  that  it  is  difficult  to  determine  their  relative 
value.  But  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  any 
society,  composed  of  earnest  spiritually  minded 
young  men  and  women,  should  be  at  least  in  part 
instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  one  or  more 
young  men  in  the  course  of  a  year,  and  that  so 
definitely  as  to  be  manifest.  Yet  out  of  ninety- 
two  societies,  so  distributed  among  denomina- 
tions and  different  sections  as  to  be  presumably 
representative  of  all  in  a  fair  degree,  only  six 
reported  a  total  of  twenty-one  conversions,  and 
two  others  "several."  Considering  that  the  mem- 
bership of  these  societies  is  over  7500,  of  whom 
over  2500  are  young  men,  it  is  very  evident  that 
whatever  else  of  good  the  young  people's  societies 
are  doing  they  are  sadly  deficient  in  winning  young 
men  to  a  saving  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  society 
is  rightly  regarded  as  "the  training  school  of  the 
church,"  but  it  seems  to  be  forgotten  by  its  lead- 
ers that  there  is  no  more  important  or  efficient 
means  of  training  for  service  than  that  expressed 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE  S   SOCIETY  lOg 

in  the  title  of  Dr.  Trumbull's  helpful  book,  Indi- 
vidual  Work  for  Individuals.  This  is  the  weakest 
point  in  the  whole  young  people's  society  move- 
ment, and  for  its  immediate  strengthening  some 
of  the  other  forms  of  work,  good  as  they  all  are  in 
their  place,  might  well  give  way,  temporarily  at 
least  and  permanently  if  need  be. 

F.    CONCLUSION 

Much  of  what  precedes  in  this  chapter  has  been 
said  of  societies  as  a  whole,  yet  always  with  the 
case  of  young  men  uppermost  in  thought  even  if 
not  so  expressed.  In  this  concluding  section  are 
some  matters  especially  concerning  them.  As 
already  indicated,  the  proportion  of  young  men 
in  the  societies  is  a  little  over  one-third,  or  36  per 
cent  to  be  exact.  This  is  practically  identical  with 
the  proportion  of  males  in  the  entire  church 
membership,  which,  as  noted  at  the  beginning  of 
this  study,  was  found  to  be  37  per  cent.  It  is 
evident  therefore  from  this,  as  from  the  closing 
part  of  the  preceding  section,  that  the  societies 
are  accomplishing  practically  nothing  in  the  way 
of  solving  the  problem  of  the  relative  lack  of 
men  in  the  churches,  although  the  attendance  of 
young  men  at  their  meetings  was  slightly  higher 
in  proportion  than  upon  the  evening  church  ser- 
vice, 33  per  cent  as  against  30.  This  is  not  due  to 
any  failure  of  the  societies  to  give  them  some- 
thing to  do,  for  51  per  cent  of  the  officers  and 
chairmen  were  reported  to  be  young  men,  and  they 


no     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

were  the  leaders  of  45  per  cent  of  the  last  twenty 
meetings  preceding  the  time  of  the  reports,  a  ratio 
in  each  case  higher  than  that  of  their  member- 
ship.     To  what  then  is  this  due? 

One  of  the  questions  bore  directly  upon  this 
point,  "Wherein  does  the  society  fail  to  help 
young  men?"  and  here  are  some  of  the  answers 
from  pastors  and  officers:  "The  society  confines 
its  efforts  to  its  own  members;  worships  itself,  a 
common  fault  of  Endeavor  societies;  does  not 
put  forth  enough  effort  for  the  unconverted;  lack 
of  personal  work  by  male  members;  takes  too 
little  interest  in  them;  there  is  too  little  practical 
work  in  proportion  to  the  talk;  young  men  are 
given  nothing  practical  to  do;  lack  of  earnestness 
in  the  society;  lack  of  social  power;  meetings  not 
interesting,  sufficiently  varied,  nor  pointed  in 
purpose;  meetings  prosy  and  slow;  we  have  not 
adapted  our  work  to  thinking  young  men, 
especially  those  who  are  too  conscientious  to 
sign  the  pledge;  the  work  of  the  society  is  too 
distinctively  spiritual  for  them;  the  ordinary 
young  man  (in  lower  New  York)  has  done 
violence  to  his  religious  nature." 

These  answers  in  each  case  relate  to  some 
individual  society,  but  several  of  them  are  given 
by  two  or  more  and  probably  all  are  of  more  or 
less  general  application.  All  place  the  burden  of 
the  blame  upon  the  societies  themselves  except 
the  last  two.  These  recognize,  as  every  worker 
in  spiritual  affairs  does,  the  literal  truth  of  Paul's 


THE   YOUNG   PEOPLE'S   SOCIETY  III 


statement,  "the  mind  of  the  flesh  is  enmity  against 
God,"  and  hence  cannot  be  expected  to  take 
kindly  to  matters  of  religion.  Nevertheless,  this 
does  not  acquit  the  societies  of  blame  for  such 
self-confessed  shortcomings  as  most  of  those 
cited.  They  are  equipped  with  "weapons  mighty 
before  God  to  the  casting  down  of  strongholds"  of 
sin  in  the  human  hearts,  yet  they  are  manifestly 
failing  to  use  those  weapons  effectively  to  any 
adequate  extent. 

There  is  evidently  need  of  a  general  awakening 
to  a  realization  of  the  magnitude  of  both  the 
opportunities  and  responsibilities  of  young 
people's  societies  for  promoting  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  young  men.  The  primary  means  to  this 
end,  as  in  all  Christian  service,  is  the  deepening 
and  quickening  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  individ- 
ual members.  There  is  no  substitute  for  this. 
But  there  are  also  secondary  means,  and  among 
them  these  will  be  found  helpful.  Let  more 
emphasis  be  laid  on  Christian  activity  that  really 
amounts  to  something.  Young  men  in  their 
every-day  life  are  engaged  in  work  that  produces 
definite,  tangible  results,  and  it  is  not  strange  that 
much  of  what  in  most  societies  passes  for  work 
appears  to  them  to  be  petty  and  trifling,  if  not 
altogether  useless.  Again,  let  greater  recognition 
be  made  of  such  real  practical  Christian  service 
as  a  mode  of  confessing  Christ  that  is  of  equal 
value  with  prayer-meeting  testimony — it  is  really 
far  greater.     A  pastor  who  is  successful  in  work 


112     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

for  young  men  writes:  "Too  much  emphasis  is 
laid  upon  speaking  in  the  meeting.  There  are 
other  methods  of  expressing  the  religious  life  and 
I  do  not  think  this  is  the  most  natural  one  for  a 
young  man.  He  would  a  great  deal  rather  do 
some  helpful  thing  for  somebody  else.'*  Further- 
more, appeal  should  be  made  to  the  heroic  ele- 
ment that  exists  more  or  less  in  all  young  men. 
Often  too  little  rather  than  too  much  is  expected 
of  them.  The  ordinary  methods  of  the  young 
people's  society  seem  to  indicate  a  belief  that 
young  men  "can  be  coaxed  into  the  kingdom  and 
satisfied  with  entertainments  and  games  and  pink 
teas  and  oyster  suppers,"  as  Dr.  Clark  puts  it. 
The  average  young  man  rejoices  in  his  strength 
and  is  attracted  by  tasks  that  are  worthy  of  that 
strength,  just  as  surely  as  he  is  repelled  by 
whatever  seems  light  and  trivial.  As  a  final 
suggestion,  let  there  be  more  of  definite  work 
by  young  men  on  behalf  of  young  men.  The 
advantages  of  this  will  be  considered  in  the 
chapter  on  Brotherhoods,  and  is  mentioned  here 
only  to  call  attention  to  a  large  but  commonly 
neglected  field  of  usefulness  for  young  people's 
societies.  Especially  should  such  work  as  this  be 
done  by  the  societies  in  churches  where  there  are 
no  separate  organizations  of  young  men,  and 
many  of  the  methods  employed  by  them  can  be 
used  to  good  advantage  by  the  societies. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   BROTHERHOOD 

In  the  preceding  chapter  the  young  people's 
society  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  practical  answers 
of  the  church  of  to-day  to  the  new  demands  of  an 
increasingly  complex  civilization.  Another  and 
in  some  respects  similar  answer  is  the  organization 
of  young  men  for  specific  work  on  behalf  of  their 
fellows.  These  are  called  by  various  names,  such 
as  brotherhoods,  leagues,  clubs,  unions,  and  the 
like,  of  which  the  first  is  chosen  for  the  heading 
of  this  chapter  as  being  most  distinctive  and  at 
the  same  time  best  expressing  the  fundamental 
idea  of  all.  There  are  four  such  organizations 
which  have  attained  national  proportions.  These 
will  be  described  in  order  of  their  establishment, 
and  followed  by  brief  mention  of  a  few  local  and 
independent  brotherhoods. 

A.    THE   BROTHERHOOD   OF   SAINT   ANDREW 

I.  History  and  organization.  This  is  confined 
wholly  to  the  members  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church.  It  began  in  1883  in  Saint  James' 
Church,  Chicago,  by  the  agreement  of  twelve 
young  men,  members  of  a  Bible  class  under  the 
leadership  of  Mr.  James  L.  Houghteling,  to  fol- 
low the  example  of  the  disciple  Andrew  in  bring- 

113 


114     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ing  Simon  to  his  new  Master.  There  was  no  idea 
of  anything  beyond  a  local  guild  for  the  spiritual 
betterment  of  young  men,  but  the  news  of  its 
success  spread  to  other  churches  and  similar 
guilds  were  formed. 

In  1886  a  general  organization  was  established, 
known  as  the  Brotherhood  of  Saint  Andrew  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 
There  has  been  a  steady  growth  until  there  are 
now  about  nine  thousand  members  of  senior  chap- 
ters, as  the  local  bodies  are  called,  besides  six 
thousand  juniors,  boys  from  twelve  to  sixteen. 
The  movement  proved  too  valuable  to  be  con- 
fined to  this  country,  and  it  has  spread  to  Canada, 
Scotland,  England,  the  West  Indies,  South  Amer- 
ica, South  Africa,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Japan, 
and  China.  In  several  of  these  there  is  a  national 
organization,  the  headquarters  for  the  United 
States  being  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  with  Mr. 
Hubert  Carleton  as  general  secretary  and  editor 
of  the  monthly  paper,  Sai?it  Andrew's  Cross. 

2.  Object.  The  object  of  the  Brotherhood  is 
thus  stated  in  the  constitution:  "The  sole  object 
of  the  Brotherhood  of  Saint  Andrew  is  the  spread 
of  Christ's  kingdom  among  men,  especially  young 
men,  and  to  this  end  every  man  desiring  to  be- 
come a  member  thereof  must  pledge  himself  to 
obey  the  rules  of  the  Brotherhood,  so  long  as  he 
shall  be  a  member.  These  rules  are  two:  the  rule 
of  prayer  and  the  rule  of  service.  The  rule  of 
prayer  is  to  pray  daily  for  the  spread  of  Christ's 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  II5 

kingdom  among  men,  especially  young  men,  and 
for  God's  blessing  upon  the  labors  of  the  Brother- 
hood. The  rule  of  service  is  to  make  at  least  one 
earnest  effort  each  week  to  lead  some  man  nearer 
to  Christ  through  His  church."  The  purpose  is 
thus  seen  to  be  distinctively  spiritual,  the  hand- 
book saying  in  this  respect:  "It  is  understood 
that  the  chapters,  as  such,  shall  conduct  their 
work  on  truly  spiritual  lines,  and  shall  not  under- 
take the  management  of  entertainments,  fairs, 
and  similar  functions."  The  national  secretary 
writes:  "Its  sole  idea  is  that  of  personal  service 
on  behalf  of  others.  The  members  do  not  work 
for  the  good  of  the  society,  nor  to  get  men  to 
join  it  or  anything  else,  except  in  so  far  as  it 
tends  to  make  them  working  members  of  the 
church.  We  do  not  believe  in  social  or  socio- 
logical or  charitable  work  unless  the  definite  aim 
of  bringing  the  men  nearer  to  Christ  is  kept 
clearly  before  us.  We  say  it  is  impossible  for  a 
man  to  be  a  real  Christian  unless  he  is  trying  to 
make  it  easier  for  other  men  who  are  not  Christ- 
ians to  become  such,  and  for  those  who  are  Christ- 
ians to  become  better  ones." 

3.  Membership  basis.  Although  the  movement 
has  become  wide-spread  but  little  effort  is  made 
for  members.  To  quote  further  from  the  secre- 
tary: "Our  men  join  for  what  they  can  give  and 
not  for  what  they  can  get.  Quality  is  always 
considered  before  quantity.  That  the  men  may 
fully  understand   the  Brotherhood  we  require  a 


Il6     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

probationary  membership  of  at  least  three  months. 
This  fortunately  cuts  off  many  unsuitable  appli- 
cants, who  soon  drop  out  after  having  had  some 
difficult  work  suggested  to  them.  It  is  a  society 
of  workers  only."  On  this  point  the  words  of  the 
founder  are  explicit.  "Every  man  is  a  pledged 
worker  for  the  spread  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  has  not  joined  because  it  is  the  thing 
to  do;  he  has  not  joined  because  of  the  wishes  of 
his  pastor;  but  he  has  gone  into  it  with  a  consci- 
entious desire  to  spread  the  kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  has  pledged  himself  to  work  to  that 
end."^ 

There  is  a  simple  form  of  admission  to  member- 
ship, in  which  the  candidate  verbally  pledges 
himself  to  observe  the  two  rules,  so  far  as  able 
and  so  long  as  he  remains  a  member.  He  re- 
ceives a  cardboard  folder  of  pocket  size,  contain- 
ing a  certificate  of  membership,  a  summary  of  the 
objects  of  the  order,  the  two  rules,  recommenda- 
tions, and  brief  prayers.  There  is  also  a  special 
prayer,  "the  collect  for  Saint  Andrew's  Day," 
which  all  are  recommended  to  use  each  noon  as 
a  prayer  for  the  spread  of  Christ's  kingdom 
among  men. 

Each  chapter  is  wholly  subordinate  to  the 
church  in  which  it  exists.  It  can  not  be  estab- 
lished without  the  approval  of  the  rector,  whose 
written  consent  is  prerequisite  to  the  granting  of 
a    charter  by  the  national  council.      If  for  any 

»  Christianity  Practically  Applied,  Vol.  II,  p.  35. 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  II7 

reason  this  approval  be  afterward  withdrawn,  the 
charter  is  annulled.  The  organization  is  pur- 
posely simple,  in  keeping  with  its  objects.  There 
are  ordinarily  but  three  officers,  director,  secre- 
tary, and  treasurer,  and  these  appoint  any  com- 
mittees that  may  be  necessary.  In  cities  where 
there  are  several  chapters  local  assemblies  are 
formed  for  closer  cooperation  and  increased  effi- 
ciency. 

The  general  oversight  of  chapters  in  different 
states  is  assigned  to  members  of  the  national 
council.  National  conventions  are  held  yearly, 
with  an  attendance  as  high  as  twelve  hundred. 
A  marked  feature  is  the  observance  of  seasons  of 
devotion  at  the  beginning,  lasting  sometimes  a 
whole  day.  Several  belated  groups  of  delegates 
to  a  recent  convention  held  such  services  while 
traveling  by  rail  and  steamer. 

4.  Methods.  While  the  distinctively  spiritual 
purpose  of  the  Brotherhood  is  kept  constantly  at 
the  front,  yet  its  efforts  are  by  no  means  confined 
to  what  is  commonly  known  as  "personal  work,** 
the  direct  endeavor  to  lead  a  soul  to  saving  faith 
in  Christ.  Among  the  lines  of  work  engaged  in 
as  more  or  less  directly  tributary  to  this  end  are 
the  following:  Bible  study,  often  on  a  week-day 
evening;  distribution  of  cards  of  invitation,  in- 
cluding hotel  guests;  welcoming  strangers  at  the 
church  services;  establishment  of  a  club  room, 
especially  for  homeless  young  men;  the  support 
of  special  services,  as  during  Lent;  conducting 


Il8     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

local  missions  in  sections  of  the  city  or  country 
destitute  of  church  advantages;  visitation  of  hos- 
pitals and  prisons,  with  personal  attention  to 
inmates  after  leaving,  and  help  where  needed. 

This  necessarily  brief  description  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  Saint  Andrew,  notable,  in  this  day  of 
religious  organizations  with  multifarious  ends,  for 
its  rigid  insistence  upon  a  distinctively  spiritual 
purpose,  may  fittingly  close  with  one  of  its 
beautiful  prayers,  in  at  least  the  latter  part  of 
which  all  who  are  concerned  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  young  men  might  well  join. 

*'FOR  THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRIST S  KINGDOM  AMONG 
YOUNG  MEN 

* 'Almighty  and  eternal  Father,  without  whom 
nothing  is  strong,  nothing  is  holy,  we  beseech 
Thee  to  inspire  and  sustain  the  prayers  and  efforts 
of  the  members  of  our  Brotherhood  and  to  hallow 
their  lives;  and  grant  that  young  men  everywhere 
may  be  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  Thy  Son, 
and  may  be  led  from  strength  to  strength  until 
they  attain  unto  the  fulness  of  eternal  life, 
through  the  same,  Thy  Son,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
Amen.** 

B.  THE  BROTHERHOOD  OF  ANDREW  AND  PHILIP 

I.  Founding  and  growth.  This  organization  is 
similar  in  its  primary  purpose  to  the  preceding, 
having  been  suggested  by  and  largely  modeled 
after  it.     In  May,   1888,  Rev.  R.  W.  Miller,  then 


THE   BROTHERHOOD  IIQ 

associate  pastor  of  the  Second  Reformed  Church 
of  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  organized  fifteen  young 
men  of  his  congregation  into  a  society,  to  which 
the  above  name  was  given.  As  in  the  former 
case,  the  nucleus  of  the  new  organization  was  a 
young  men's  Bible  class.  It  was  not,  however, 
intended  that  this  Brotherhood  should  be  con- 
fined to  a  particular  denomination,  and  the  idea 
was  soon  taken  up  in  many  other  churches.  In 
two  years  there  were  thirty-five  chapters  with  over 
one  thousand  members  and  there  has  been  a  steady 
growth  ever  since,  until  the  membership  is  about 
twenty-five  thousand,  distributed  among  churches 
of  twenty-three  denominaions.  In  five  of  these, 
Baptist,  Congregational,  Methodist,  Presbyterian, 
and  Reformed,  the  chapters  have  an  executive 
council  for  the  denomination  and  hold  annual 
conventions. 

There  is  a  federal  council,  composed  of  three 
delegates  appointed  by  each  executive  council. 
Its  president  is  Rev.  R.  W.  Miller,  Reading, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  general  and  field  secretary. 
Rev.  J.  Garland  Hamner,  Jr.,  Newark,  New 
Jersey.  The  federal  council  has  supervision  of 
the  general  work  of  the  Brotherhood,  issues  all 
charters  to  local  chapters,  arranges  for  biennial 
conventions,  and  publishes  a  monthly  magazine, 
The  Brotherhood  Star.  The  national  work  is  sup- 
ported by  voluntary  offerings,  there  being  no 
dues  or  assessments  of  any  kind. 

The  largest  chapter  is  in  the  Bethany  Presby- 


I20     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

terian  Church,  Philadelphia.  It  has  about  a 
thousand  members  and  occupies  a  fine  building, 
the  gift  of  the  president,  Mr.  John  Wanamaker. 
A  Sunday  morning  prayer-meeting  is  held  with 
an  attendance  of  several  hundred. 

2.  Purpose  and  methods.  The  sole  object  is  the 
spread  of  Christ's  kingdom  among  the  youth 
and  older  men.  For  the  promotion  of  this  object 
each  active  member  promises  to  observe  two 
rules:  "(i)  The  rule  of  prayer,  to  pray  daily  for 
the  spread  of  Christ's  kingdom  among  men  and 
for  God's  blessing  upon  the  labors  of  the  Brother- 
hood; (2)  the  rule  of  service,  to  make  an  earnest 
effort  each  week  to  bring  at  least  one  man  or 
boy  within  hearing  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
as  set  forth  in  the  services  of  the  church,  young  peo- 
ple's meetings,  and  young  men's  Bible  classes." 
Herein  the  organization  is  almost  identical  with 
the  Brotherhood  of  Saint  Andrew,  but  its  methods 
are  more  varied.  While  it  lays  emphasis  upon 
the  spiritual  work  first,  "teaching  the  members 
that  they  must  learn  to  recognize  God's  voice  in 
their  own  hearts  and  to  obey  it  implicitly,  and 
that  they  must  strive  to  introduce  other  men  to 
Him,"  to  quote  a  letter  from  the  general  secre- 
tary, there  is  also  a  recognition  of  other  than 
distinctly  spiritual  means  as  legitimate  and  help- 
ful to  the  accomplishment  of  its  purpose.  What 
these  means  are  will  be  indicated  by  a  list  of 
local  committees  suggested  by  the  national  organ- 
ization:  (i)  Lookout,   to  seek  new  members  and 


or 
THE    BROTHERHOOD  121 

reclaim  the  indifferent;  (2)  devotional;  (3)  social; 
(4)  Bible  class;  (5)  relief,  for  the  help  of  mem- 
bers and  others  who  may  be  sick  or  out  of  em- 
ployment; (6)  rescue,  to  have  charge  of  hospital, 
prison,  mission  and  outdoor  work;  (7)  social 
service,  to  interest  members  and  others  in  civic 
duties  and  in  moral  and  social  reforms;  (8)  read- 
ing room;  (9)  advertising;  (10)  executive,  for 
general  oversight  of  the  affairs  of  the  chapter. 

3.  Membership  basis.  In  the  matter  of  classes  of 
membership  each  chapter  makes  its  own  rules, 
except  that  active  members  must  be  church 
members  and  agree  to  observe  the  rules  of  prayer 
and  service.  Some  have  only  members  of  this 
class,  while  others  add  associate,  any  man  of 
good  moral  character,  and  honorary,  any  per- 
son aiding  or  advancing  the  object  of  the 
Brotherhood.  In  place  of  these  classes  some 
chapters  have  three  degrees.  The  first  corre- 
sponds to  associate  membership  and  must  be 
taken  by  all,  while  the  second  corresponds  to 
active  membership.  In  connection  with  each 
of  these  degrees  there  is  a  simple  but  impress- 
ive form  of  initiation,  conducted  as  a  religious 
service.  Members  of  the  third  degree  are  known 
only  by  the  pastor,  to  whom  they  have  privately 
given  their  names  as  "ready  to  perform  any 
reasonable  specific  work  for  a  man  that  the  pastor 
may  desire." 

The  establishment  of  a  chapter  in  any  church  is 
a  simple  matter.     The  federal  constitution  says; 


122     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

"Any  organization  of  young  men  in  any  congre- 
gation or  mission  of  any  evangelical  church, 
whose  members  so  pledge  themselves  (to  the 
observance  of  the  rules  before  mentioned),  is 
entitled,  with  the  approval  of  the  minister  or 
officers  in  charge,  to  enrolment,  and  so  to  be- 
come a  chapter,  and  as  such  to  obtain  represen- 
tation in  the  convention.  There  is  also  a  Junior 
Brotherhood,  composed  of  boys. 

4.  Advantages.  Some  of  the  specific  advantages 
of  the  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip  are  thus 
stated  by  its  founder:  "A  chapter  engages  first 
in  work  within  the  bounds  of  the  congregation 
with  which  it  is  connected.  It  has  its  limits  and 
can  hope  to  cover  its  field  and  do  its  work  fairly 
well.  It  engages  in  evangelistic  work  outside  the 
parish,  but  always  from  the  church  as  a  center, 
and  it  brings  its  fruits  home  to  the  church.  The 
Brotherhood  plan  brings  the  young  men  of  the 
congregation  under  the  guidance  and  instruction 
of  their  natural  leaders,  the  pastor  and  church 
officers.  This  is  an  incalculable  advantage.  In 
addition  it  can  be  said  that  the  Brotherhood 
work  is,  so  to  speak,  the  missing  link  between  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the  local 
congregation,  in  that  it  can  bring  the  young  men 
reached  through  the  former  into  touch  with  the 
divinely  instituted  means  of  grace  in  the  church." 

In  any  church  where  there  is  no  organized  work 
especially  for  young  men,  the  Brotherhood  of 
Andrew  and  Philip  is  worthy  of  introduction.   The 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  1 23 

organization  is  so  simple  and  elastic  as  to  admit 
of  its  adoption  by  any  body  of  young  men  who 
earnestly  desire  to  promote  the  kingdom  of  their 
Master  among  their  fellows.  Each  chapter  is 
wholly  subordinate  to  the  local  church  in  which 
it  exists  and  is  entirely  free  from  outside  control. 
At  the  same  time  its  affiliation  with  the  chapters 
both  of  its  own  denomination  and  of  twenty-three 
others  will  furnish  a  sense  of  comradeship  and  a 
breadth  of  vision  that  are  scarcely  p>ossible  to  a 
purely  local  organization,  and  will  prove  of  large 
value.  Its  appropriate  motto  is:  "They  that  are 
wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament; 
and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the 
stars  for  ever  and  ever."     (Daniel  12:  3.) 

C.    THE   BROTHERHOOD   OF   SAINT   PAUL 

This  is  the  third  Protestant  fraternity  of  young 
men  in  the  United  States  in  point  of  age,  and  is 
confined  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

1.  Object.  "The  purpose  of  this  Brotherhood  is 
to  effect  the  mutual  improvement  and  entertain- 
ment of  its  members  by  religious,  social,  physical, 
and  literary  culture,  to  promote  the  spirit  and 
practice  of  Christian  brotherhood,  to  build  up  the 
church  with  which  we  are  connected,  and  espe- 
cially to  extend  Christ's  cause  in  the  world  by 
winning  our  brothers  to  the  Christian  faith."        ^ 

2.  Principles.  "We  accept  Christ  as  our  great 
commander,  example,  and  Saviour,  and  Saint  Paul 
as   the  leader  of  our  division  of  Christ's  army. 


124     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

They  are  our  types  of  manly  character.  We 
declare  loyalty  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  to  its  laws,  its  pastors,  and  its  lay  offi- 
ciary, and  to  the  Scripture  doctrines  upon  which 
it  is  founded." 

3.  Aims.  "We  will  seek  daily  the  noblest 
Christian  manhood;  devote  our  lives  to  the  cause 
of  Jesus  on  earth;  be  loyal  to  the  church  and  keep 
her  rules;  know  more  of  the  Bible  and  be  proud 
to  carry  and  to  use  it;  be  educated  churchmen, 
making  good  use  of  our  church  papers  and  pub- 
lications; esteem  them  who  are  over  us  in  the 
church  very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's  sake; 
be  true  brothers,  seeking  to  protect  each  other's 
reputation  and  to  advance  each  other's  interests; 
be  Christians  everywhere  and  in  all  the  relations 
of  life,  social,  business,  political,  religious;  take 
an  all-round  interest  in  every  good  work,  and 
especially  in  missions,  church  building,  educa- 
tion, and  the  care  of  veterans  and  the  sick;  pray 
daily,  and  labor  to  save  lost  men  and  to  increase 
the  numbers  of  them  who  shall  come  under  the 
influence  of  our  church." 

4.  Advantages,  In  addition  to  the  general 
advantages  of  such  organizations,  the  following 
specific  points  are  cited  in  favor  of  the  Brother- 
hood of  Saint  Paul:  "It  is  really  and  not  nom- 
inally fraternal;  its  fraternal  forms  and  deeds 
attract  and  hold  practical,  sensible  men;  the 
pastor  is  chaplain  and  ranking  officer  and  so 
always  at  the  center  of  things;   moral  men  who 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  1 25 

are  interested  in  the  church  are  received  into  the 
first  degree  of  membership,  and  in  most  of  the 
chapters  have  thus  first  become  affiliated  with 
Christian  brothers  and  then  with  the  church;  no 
work  is  undertaken  which  conflicts  with  other 
church  interests." 

5.  Growth.  In  its  present  form  the  Brother- 
hood dates  from  1896  and  has  had  a  steady 
growth,  the  present  membership  being  about 
twenty-five  thousand,  distributed  throughout  the 
country.  It  is  not  confined  to  young  men, 
although  they  form  a  large  proportion.  There 
are  both  local  and  state  brotherhoods  and  also 
a  national  organization  with  headquarters  at 
Syracuse,  New  York.  Mr.  H.  E.  Dingley  of 
Syracuse  is  president  and  Rev.  A.  W.  Haynes, 
D.D.,  Binghamton,   New  York,  is  secretary. 

6.  Juniors.  There  is  a  junior  organization, 
already  mentioned,  known  as  the  Knights  of 
Saint  Paul  and  composed  of  boys  under  fifteen. 
Each  chapter  is  under  the  supervision  of  the 
pastor  and  the  senior  chapter.  Its  object  is  "to 
develop  a  manly  Christian  character."  Any  boy 
who  is  approved  by  the  pastor  is  eligible  to 
membership. 

7.  Local  organizations.  Besides  the  usual 
officers  there  are  four  committees  with  duties  as 
follows: 

(i)  Christian  work:  attendance  as  means  of 
grace;  men's  devotional  services;  personal  work; 
invitations  and  welcoming;  neighborhood   meet- 


126     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ings;  religious  census;  Bible  study  club  for 
men;  Knights  of  Saint  Paul;  temperance; 
missions;  Christian  citizenship;  personal  purity; 
all  benevolent  and  moral  causes;  training 
classes  in  Christian  service;  circulation  of 
religious  papers  and  books.  (2)  Social:  finding 
and  welcoming  strangers;  debates  and  dis- 
cussions of  practical,  religious  and  literary 
character;  lectures  and  entertainments;  out- 
ings and  receptions;  promotion  of  brotherly 
spirit  in  the  church.  (3)  Membership:  securing 
new  members;  visitation  of  the  sick,  and  help  if 
needed;  care  of  regalia  and  other  property  of  the 
chapter;  inspection  and  oversight  of  membership 
roll;  initiations.  (4)  Executive:  general  over- 
sight of  all  committees  and  care  of  financial 
and  all  matters  not  otherwise  provided  for. 

Every  session  is  opened  and  closed  in  accord- 
ance with  a  simple  ritual,  designed  to  remind 
members  of  the  object,  principles,  and  aims  of 
the  order,  as  given  in  the  opening  of  this  section. 

There  is  a  Mutual  Benefit  Branch  which  may  be 
established  at  each  chapter's  pleasure,  "to  pro- 
vide for  mutual  helpfulness  in  sickness  and  need, 
and  to  assist  in  paying  burial  expenses." 

8.  Degrees.  The  most  marked  feature  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Saint  Paul,  differentiating  it  from 
the  two  preceding,  is  the  existence  of  three 
degrees  or  orders.  The  first  is  the  Order  of  Jeru- 
salem, "comprising  all  new  members  and  all 
who,    though    not   in    full    membership    in   the 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  I27 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  will  agree  to  en- 
deavor to  live  a  moral  life."  The  Order  of 
Damascus  comprises  "all  who,  as  travelers  in  the 
way  of  life,  have  met  Christ,  and,  having  accepted 
His  love  and  undertaken  His  service,"  have 
come  into  full  church  membership.  Membership 
in  the  Order  of  Rome  is  confined  to  those  who 
have  been  members  of  the  second  order  for  two 
years.  Initiation  in  each  case  is  conducted  with 
elaborate  ceremonies,  abounding  in  Scripture 
and  hymns,  and  is  made  a  deeply  religious 
service. 

9.  Results.  An  organization  is  best  judged  by 
what  it  accomplishes,  and  brief  statements  of 
work  done  by  a  few  chapters  are  here  given. 
"Chartered  a  car  and  held  gospel  meetings  in  a 
neighboring  city;  conducted  Sunday  evening 
prayer  service  for  six  months;  9:30  a.  m.  devotional 
meeting  with  attendance  of  thirty  men;  conver- 
sions of  men  of  the  chapter;  induced  six  hun- 
dred men  at  one  service  to  attend  church; 
Tuesday  evening  Bible  studies;  platform  and 
personal  work  committees  during  revival  ser- 
vices; interest  created  in  regular  Sunday  services; 
young  men  in  boarding  houses  sought  out  and 
interested;  deaconess  supported  in  work  among 
sick  and  poor;  Knights  of  Saint  Paul  established; 
orphan  and  preacher  in  India  supported;  good 
literature  table  maintained  in  church  vestry; 
country  Sunday-school  started;  rid  the  town  of 
saloons;  stopped  Sunday  racing;    gymnasium  and 


128     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

reading-room;  lecture  course  and  debates;  relief 
of  the  sick  and  destitute." 

This  large  and  varied  activity  shows  practical 
belief  in  one  of  the  official  statements:  "There 
is  no  loving  helpful  office  of  man  to  man  which 
may  not  with  propriety  be  performed  under  the 
sanction  and  in  the  power  of  the  church  of 
Christ." 

D.    THE   GIDEONS 

/  I.  History.  A  score  of  years  ago  almost  the 
/last  place  one  would  look  to  find  active  Christians 
would  have  been  among  traveling  salesmen, 
commonly  known  as  "drummers."  Almost  con- 
stantly on  the  move  and  so  bound  very  lightly 
by  ordinary,  ties  of  social  restraint,  away  from 
home  nearly  all  the  time  and  so  but  little  bound 
by  family  ties,  young  men  of  this  class  are 
unusually  exposed  to  temptations  of  every  sort, 
especially  those  which  appeal  to  their  lower 
nature.  But  to-day  the  convivial,  carousing  type 
has  largely  disappeared,  thanks  to  the  operation 
of  two  forces.  One  of  these  is  negative, 
expressed  by  the  familiar  evolutionary  law 
of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  Salesmen 
of  this  sort  have  simply  gone  down  in 
competition  with  men  of  sound  bodies,  clear 
minds,  and  honest  hearts,  who  have  proved  to 
be  their  superiors  in  every  way.  The  other 
force  is  positive  and  is  none  other  than  the 
gospel   of  Jesus    Christ    which    here,    as   every- 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  1 29 

where,  has  wrought  the  elevation  of  manhood 
in  all  its  departments,  physical,  mental,  and  spir- 
itual. 

This  positive  influence  has  in  the  past  few 
years  been  furthered  in  a  remarkable  degree  by 
an  organization  of  Christian  traveling  men  known 
as  the  Gideons.  Its  beginning  is  traced  to  so 
simple  and  apparently  circumstantial  a  thing  as 
the  enforced  rooming  together  one  night  in  a 
hotel  in  Boscobel,  Wisconsin,  of  two  salesmen, 
hitherto  unacquainted.  Although  representing 
different  firms  they  proved  to  be  members  of  the 
same  kingdom,  and  upon  unexpectedly  meeting 
soon  after  conceived  the  idea  of  banding  together 
Christian  traveling  men  of  various  occupations. 
With  characteristic  energy  the  idea  was  embodied 
in  the  immediate  sending  out  of  letters  to  several 
such,  with  the  result  that  on  July  I,  1899,  at 
Janesville,  Wisconsin,  the  society  of  the  Gideons 
was  organized,  with  three  charter  members. 
Nothing  daunted,  they  sent  out  more  letters,  and 
on  September  first  more  men  were  present  and 
the  organization  was  completed. 

The  need  of  some  means  for  recognizing  fellow 
members  was  met  by  the  adoption  of  a  buttonhole 
badge,  the  design  representing  the  pitcher  and 
torch  carried  by  the  soldiers  of  Gideon  in  their 
successful  night  attack  on  the  Midianites.  The 
new  order  spread  rapidly  and  an  official  publica- 
tion was  established,  known  as  The  Gideon,  pub- 
lished five  times  a  year  at  Madison,  Wisconsin. 


130     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Annual  conventions  are  held,  which  are  marked 
by  religious  zeal  and  spiritual  power. 

2.  Object  andmetJiods.  The  purpose  of  the  organ- 
ization is  thus  stated:  "The  object  of  the  Gideons 
shall  be  to  recognize  the  Christian  traveling  men 
of  the  world  with  cordial  fellowship;  to  encourage 
each  other  in  the  Master's  work;  to  improve  every 
opportunity  for  the  betterment  of  the  lives  of  our 
fellow  travelers,  business  men,  and  others  with 
whom  we  may  come  in  contact;  scattering  seeds 
all  along  the  pathway  for  Christ.  An  active  mem- 
ber shall  be  any  commercial  traveling  man  of 
recognized  church  membership  of  any  denomina- 
tion, who  believes  in  Jesus  Christ  as  his  only 
Saviour."  Membership  is  not  limited  to  sales- 
men but  includes  also  buyers,  collectors,  auditors, 
claim  and  advertising  agents,  freight  and  passen- 
ger agents,  insurance  agents  and  adjusters,  whose 
business  keeps  them  on  the  road.  Its  members 
being  constantly  so  scattered,  the  organization  is 
quite  simple.  Those  whose  homes  are  in  or  near 
anyone  place  constitute  a  camp,  and  all  in  a  state 
form  a  state  camp.  The  national  organization 
alone,  through  its  officers,  receives  members.  The 
secretary  is  Mr.  J.  H.  Nicholson,  Janesville,  Wis- 
consin. The  present  membership  is  over  three 
thousand  men  and  growing  rapidly.  All  wives  of 
members  are  considered  as  forming  an  auxiliary 
society,  though  there  is  no  formal  organization. 

As  with  the  Brotherhood  of  Saint  Andrew,  the 
Gideons  have  a  definite  spiritual  purpose  and  use 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  I3I 

only  distinctively  spiritual  means  for  its  accom- 
plishment. To  quote  from  an  official  pamphlet: 
"Socials  they  have  in  private  homes,  but  unlike 
most  gatherings  of  the  name.  There  is  no  clap- 
trap to  draw  people,  no  prize  or  premium,  no  trap 
to  draw  the  unconverted  into  a  net  and  induce 
him  to  love  God's  people  because  he  sees  how 
near  the  world  one  may  live  and  yet  be  called  a 
Christian." 

The  Chicago  camp  holds  a  camp-fire  every 
Saturday  noon  in  Willard  Hall  and  also  conducts 
evangelistic  meetings  to  help  pastors.  Groups  of 
men  visit  churches  on  Sunday  and  prayer-meeting 
evenings,  and  also  occasionally  for  a  week  or 
more.  This  feature  of  the  work  has  spread  to  other 
states  and  has  proved  a  source  of  large  blessing 
to  many  churches.  "No  charge  is  made  and  no 
collection  taken  for  this  work,  which  is  absolutely 
free.  Pastors  are  being  encouraged,  churches 
revived,  and  many  souls  saved  under  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  means  of  these  men  and  their  methods." 

The  rise  and  growth  of  the  Gideons  among  a 
class  of  men  commonly  supposed  to  be  largely 
outside  of  Christian  influence,  is  a  striking  answer 
to  those  who  affirm  that  Christianity  is  declining 
and  that  the  church  is  losing  its  power  over  the 
hearts  of  men. 

E.   YOUNG  men's   PRESBYTERIAN   UNION   OF  CHICAGO 

This  organization  was  formed  in  May,  1902,  by 
the  union  of  thirty-two  young  men's  Bible  classes. 


132     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

clubs,  and  similar  societies  in  the  Presbyterian 
churches  of  Chicago  and  vicinity.  Its  unique- 
ness and  large  success  justify  its  presentation 
here. 

1.  Object.  "The  object  shall  be  to  establish 
fraternal  relations  between  the  members  of  the 
young  men's  Bible  classes,  clubs  and  kindred 
organizations  in  the  various  Presbyterian  churches 
of  Chicago  and  vicinity;  to  broaden  the  know- 
ledge and  efforts  of  young  men  along  the  line  of 
intelligent  Christian  citizenship;  to  enlarge  and 
improve  the  work  of  existing  organizations  and 
assist  in  the  establishment  of  new  ones;  and  to 
do  everything  possible  to  strengthen  fellow- 
ship and  friendship  among  Presbyterian  young 
men." 

2.  Organization.  The  control  of  the  Union  is 
vested  in  a  board  of  delegates,  composed  of  one 
from  each  organization,  and  si^  pastors,  two  from 
each  of  the  three  divisions  of  the  city.'  This 
body  meets  quarterly.  There  is  an  executive  com- 
mittee composed  of  the  officers,  three  pastors,  and 
three  laymen. 

3.  Lines  of  work.  In  addition  to  the  usual  offi- 
cers, there  are  six  vice-presidents,  in  charge  of 
the  following  departments: 

(i)  Finance:  to  provide  the  necessary  means 
for  current  expenses.  All  money  is  secured  by 
private  subscription,  there  being  no  assessments 
or  collections.  (2)  Citizenship:  to  educate  Chris- 
tian young  men  as  to  their  civic  duties,  and  to 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  1 33 

"impress  upon  them  that  loyalty  to  God  and  right- 
eousness are  compatible  with  success  and  useful- 
ness in  politics."  (3)  Methods  and  Instruction: 
"concerning  itself  with  systematic  investigation 
of  the  best  methods  that  can  be  devised  whereby 
young  men's  Bible  classes  may  attract  men  to 
Bible  study,  may  win  them  for  Christ,  and  may 
instruct  and  exercise  them  in  an  intelligent  and 
sincere  Christianity."  (4)  Extension  of  Work: 
to  secure  the  establishment  of  special  work  for 
young  men  where  there  is  none,  and  to  strengthen 
existing  organizations.  (5)  Missionary  Interests: 
for  the  special  promotion  of  personal  work  in 
bringing  men  to  Christ  and  reclaiming  the  indiffer- 
ent. During  the  past  winter  a  vigorous  campaign 
was  conducted,  in  the  course  of  which  nearly  five 
thousand  letters  and  ten  thousand  circulars  were 
sent  out,  including  several  hundred  copies  of  Dr. 
Trumbull's  Individual  Work  for  Individuals.  (6) 
Social  Affairs:  to  promote  the  social  life  of  each 
organization  and  also  of  the  Union  as  a  whole, 
the  latter  by  occasional  banquets  with  addresses 
by  prominent  men. 

4.  Results.  These  are  thus  summed  up  in  a  let- 
ter from  the  president,  Mr.  Andrew  Stevenson, 
615  Monadnock  Building:  "The  growth  of  the 
organizations  comprising  the  Young  Men's  Pres- 
byterian Union  of  Chicago  during  the  first  year 
of  the  united  effort  to  reach  and  hold  young 
men  has  been  remarkable.  On  May  20,  1902,  when 
the  Union    was    formed,    there   were   thirty-two 


134     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

young  men's  Bible  classes,  clubs  and  similar 
organizations  in  the  Presbyterian  churches  of 
Chicago  and  vicinity.  The  total  enrolment  was 
1,942,  1,174  being  classed  as  active  men,  who 
could  be  absolutely  depended  upon  in  our  work. 
On  May  19,  1903,  there  were  sixty-one  organ- 
izations, with  an  enrolment  of  3,172  men,  about 
2,000  of  whom  were  counted  as  active.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  the 
movement  so  early  in  its  life.  Hundreds  of  men 
who  were  at  one  time  identified  with  or  inter- 
ested in  our  Presbyterian  churches,  but  who  have 
in  later  years  been  indifferent,  have  returned  to 
the  active  ranks.  Older  men  have  been  stirred 
to  their  Christian  duties  and  privileges  as  never 
before.  And  we  are  just  experiencing  the  begin- 
ning of  the  great  forward  movement  throughout 
the  church. 

"I  count  it  the  greatest  opportunity  of  my  life 
to  be  connected  with  a  movement  which  has 
been  used  to  win  men  for  Christ  as  has  this,  and  it 
is  my  earnest  hope  that  it  will  be  duplicated  in 
some  way  or  another  in  every  leading  denomina- 
tion in  the  city  very  soon.  The  more  Christian 
young  men  that  are  banded  together  to  promote 
the  interests  of  the  kingdom,  the  easier  the 
results  come." 

5.  Publication.  A  monthly  magazine  of  sixteen 
pages  keeps  the  members  informed  of  the  progress 
of  the  work,  and  is  largely  instrumental  in  its 
furtherance. 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  1 35 

F.    THE   SUNDAY   EVENING    CLUB 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  there  are  a  large 
number  of  local  organizations,  resembling  them 
in  some  one  or  more  respects  but  having  an 
independent  existence. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  these  is  the  Sun- 
day Evening  Club,  an  organization  composed 
largely  but  not  wholly  of  young  men,  having 
for  its  special  object  the  building  up  of  attendance 
at  the  Sunday  evening  service.  This  is  done  by 
rendering  all  possible  assistance  to  the  pastor, 
as  by  invitations,  advertising,  and  kindred 
efforts,  the  sermon  being  usually  somewhat  short- 
ened in  order  to  allow  for  special  musical  features 
provided  by  the  club.  A  list  of  the  committees 
of  the  club  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Chicago  will  give  some  idea  of  the  work  not 
only  of  this  one  in  particular  but  of  all  in  gen- 
eral: worship,  for  consultation  with  the  pastor  as 
to  sermon  topics  and  the  order  of  service;  music; 
ushers;  printing,  to  advertise  the  service  by  cards 
and  newspaper  notices,  and  provide  a  printed 
order  of  worship  for  each  service;  invitation,  to 
extend  special  invitations  to  strangers  and  those 
who  attend  no  church,  and  to  welcome  all  such; 
finance;  membership;  social,  and  Bible  class. 
This  club's  efforts  are  not  confined  to  the  even- 
ing service,  but  include  social  gatherings,  lectures, 
entertainments,  and  a  Sunday  Bible  class.  The 
printed  bulletin  announces  that  it  welcomes  to 
its  membership  any  young  man,  whether  a  church 


136     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

member  or  not,  who  is  interested  in  its  work. 
"The  broad  idea  of  the  Sunday  Evening  Club," 
writes  a  successful  pastor,  "is  to  secure  the  active 
cooperation  of  the  men  who  are  not  as  yet 
thoroughly  identified  with  the  church  as  commu- 
nicants, as  well  as  those  who  are. " 

The  lines  of  work  suggested  by  the  names  of 
committees  given  above  may  be  increased  or 
diminished  at  the  pleasure  of  each  club.  One 
has  also  committees  for  church  decoration, 
religious  census  of  the  community,  and  the  care 
of  coats  and  hats  in  the  vestibule.  A  full  pre- 
sentation of  the  subject,  such  as  limited  space 
here  does  not  allow,  may  be  found  in  Modem 
Methods  in  Church  Work^  Chapter  IX.,  and  also 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  The  FishirC  Jimmy  Club. 

G.    PLEASANT   SUNDAY   AFTERNOONS 

In  Chapter  XII  of  the  same  book  will  be  found 
a  description  of  the  "Pleasant  Sunday  After- 
noon," which  offers  a  large  opportunity  for 
helping  young  men  in  places  where  there  is  no 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  move- 
ment originated  in  England  for  the  specific 
purpose  of  reaching  working  men  and  has  had 
some,  though  by  no  means  universal,  success  in 
this  country. 

The  character  of  the  meeting  is  indicated  by  its 
name.  "It  is  simply  a  gospel  service,  with  high 
class  instrumental  and  chorus  music,  solo  singing 
and  a  bright  brotherly  talk  on  things   spiritual. 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  1 37 

Representatives  of  the  various  professions, 
business  men,  and  other  available  laymen  are 
drawn  on  for  this  service."  The  fraternal  feature 
is  furnished  by  organizing  along  lines  suggested 
for  general  brotherhood  work. 


H.    OTHER   ORGANIZATIONS 

A  brief  list  of  other  and  successful  independent 
organizations  follows,  with  the  mention  of  only 
such  features,  if  any,  as  have  not  already  been 
given  in  this  chapter.  They  are  in  each  case  com- 
posed largely  or  wholly  of  young  men. 

Men's  Union,  Dudley  Street  Baptist  Church, 
Boston,  Massachusetts. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Union,  Boston.  This  is 
under  Unitarian  auspices,  has  a  building  of  its 
own,  and  carries  on  a  large  work,  similar  in 
some  respects  to  the  Young  Men*s  Christian 
Association. 

Walter  Lowrie  Club,  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
Rev.  Richard  Arnold  Greene,  leader.  Composed 
of  young  men  of  several  churches;  motto:  "His 
servants  shall  serve  Him";  literature  committee 
to  distribute  books,  magazines,  etc.,  wherever 
needed  and  acceptable;  religious  meetings  held 
Sunday  afternoon. 

Men's  Guild,  Central  Congregational  Church, 
Brooklyn,  New  York.  Promotes  mission  work 
among  negroes  and  poor  whites  in  the  South; 
supplies  tools  for  manual  training  school. 


138  THE   CHURCH    AND    YOUNG   MEN 

Men's  League,  Broadway  Tabernacle  Church, 
New  York  City. 

Men's  Club,  Judson  Memorial  Baptist  Church, 
New  York  City.  Sunday  afternoon  tea  and 
monthly  public  meeting  with  addresses  by  eminent 
men  on  civic  questions. 

Men's  Club,  First  Congregational  Church,  Jer- 
sey City,  New  Jersey.  Has  a  regular  system  of 
sick,  accident  and  death  benefits;  medical  exami- 
nation of  candidates;  club  rooms  with  gymna- 
sium, bowling  alley,  and  pool  tables;  is  incorpo- 
rated under  the  state  laws. 

Young  Men's  Club,  Saint  Matthew's  Lutheran 
Church,  Philadelphia.  "For  the  enriching  and 
widening  of  the  intellectual,  social,  and  religious 
life  of  young  men.*' 

Men's  Club,  Euclid  Avenue  Baptist  Church, 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  Traveling  men  especially  invi- 
ted to  attend  when  in  the  city,  and  traveling  men's 
membership  sustained.  Has  a  mailing  list  of  about 
one  thousand  men,  to  whom  invitations  and  an- 
nouncements of  the  various  meetings  are  sent.  A 
record  of  all  such  is  kept,  and  after  six  invitations 
with  no  response  a  name  is  removed  if  personal 
effort  fails. 

Young  Men's  Fraternity,  Ashland  Avenue 
Baptist  Church,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Young  Men's  Social  Union,  First  Baptist 
Church,  Lansing,  Michigan.  Cooperation  with 
Law  and  Order  League  of  the  city. 


THE    BROTHERHOOD  1 39 

Men's  Club,  Markham  Memorial  Presbyterian 
Church,  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

The  Brotherhood,  First  Baptist  Church,  Elgin, 
Illinois. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Brotherhood,  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Belvidere,  Illinois.  Holds 
revival  services  in  country  school  houses. 

Young  Men's  Club,  First  Baptist  Church,  St. 
Paul,  Minnesota.  Reading  room  open  every  night; 
free  writing  materials. 

Gideon's  Band,  First  Baptist  Church,  Shenan- 
doah, Iowa. 

Young  Men's  Christian  League,  Memorial  Bap- 
tist Church,  Los  Angeles,  California. 

The  chief  purpose  of  all  the  organizations  men- 
tioned in  this  chapter  is  the  performance  of  some 
definitely  spiritual  service  for  the  betterment  of 
young  men.  There  is  always  a  temptation  to 
allow  secondary  means,  such  as  social,  literary, 
athletic,  and  the  like,  to  attain  undue  prominence 
and  even  usurp  the  place  of  the  real  end,  becom- 
ing ends  in  themselves.  In  so  far  as  this  is  done 
it  is  sure  to  work  harm,  and  if  persisted  in  will 
lead  to  the  ultimate  downfall  of  the  society.  The 
prime  justification  of  a  Brotherhood  lies  in  the 
spiritual  service  that  it  renders  to  young  men. 
If  it  fails  in  this  it  has  no  sufficient  reason  for 
existence.  But  by  keeping  this  end  steadily  in 
view  and  with  strict  subordination  of  all  other 
ends,  no  matter  how  worthy  in  themselves,  it  may 
become  a  mighty  power  for  good  in  its  church 
and  community. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH 
A.    NEED   AND    DEFINITION 

The  successful  angler  has  more  than  one  sort  of 
tackle,  and  he  who  would  be  a  successful  fisher  of 
men  must  be  equally  wise.  Valuable  as  are  the 
means  described  in  the  preceding  chapters,  suc- 
cessful as  they  are  in  reaching  many  young  men 
and  bringing  them  into  church  work  and  member- 
ship, there  are  yet  very  many  whom  they  do  not 
reach.  A  wise  worker  has  said  that  the  real  test 
of  any  method  is  not  merely  the  number  that  it 
succeeds  in  helping,  but  also  the  number  that  it 
fails  to  help,  some  of  whom,  indeed,  may  be  even 
alienated  by  it.  A  highly  successful  pastor  has 
said  that  "nowadays  you  can't  swing  religion  into 
a  young  man's  consciousness  prayer-meeting  end 
to,"  and  it  is  true  of  any  form  of  work  that  is 
distinctively  and  openly  religious. 

Judged  from  the  standpoint  of  reaching  the 
largest  possible  number  of  young  men,  all  of  the 
methods  hitherto  described  are  in  some  measure 
lacking.  It  is  of  course  easy  to  reply  that  mere 
desire  for  numbers  is  an  unworthy  motive,  and 
to  point  to  the  example  of  the  founder  of 
Christianity,  who   selected   a  little   company  of 

140 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH  I4I 

men  and  trained  them,  even  at  times  withdraw- 
ing from  the  crowd.  But  He  also  reached  vast 
multitudes  of  people,  and  His  greatest  apostle 
made  it  the  object  of  his  earnest  endeavor  "by 
all  means  to  save  some,"  not  even  hesitating,  as 
he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians,  to  "take  you  with 
guile."  It  is  not  only  true  that  "he  that  is  wise 
winneth  souls,"  but  he  must  be  wise,  very  wise, 
or  he  will  not  succeed.  And  in  the  same  ancient 
book  of  practical  wisdom  it  is  said,  "Surely  the 
net  is  spread  in  vain  in  the  sight  of  any  bird." 

Practical  recognition  of  the  force  of  the  old 
maxim,  as  well  as  of  the  wisdom  of  Paul's  saying, 
has  found  expression  during  recent  years  in  the 
development  of  what,  for  want  of  a  better  term, 
is  called  the  institutional  church.  The  expression 
is  so  variously  interpreted  and  made  to  cover  so 
many  different  forms  of  activity  that  it  will  be 
helpful  to  bear  in  mind  a  definition  given  by  Rev. 
Edward  Judson,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  who  has 
had  long  experience  in  such  work.  "An  insti- 
tutional church  is  an  organized  body  of  Christian 
believers  who,  finding  themselves  in  a  hard  and 
uncongenial  social  environment,  supplement  the 
ordinary  methods  of  the  gospel — such  as  preach- 
ing, prayer-meetings,  Sunday-school,  and  pastoral 
visitation — by  a  system  of  organized  kindness,  a 
congeries  of  institutions  which,  by  touching  peo- 
ple on  physical,  social,  and  intellectual  sides, 
will  conciliate  them  and  draw  them  within  reach 
of  the  gospel.     The  local  church  under  the  pres- 


142     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

sure  of  adverse  environment  tends  to  institution- 
alism.''^ 

What  has  this  wider  circle  of  church  activity  to 
offer  to  young  men?  What  means  does  it  employ, 
other  than  those  already  presented  and  which 
of  course  it  uses,  that  will  tend  either  directly 
or  indirectly  to  promote  their  spiritual  better- 
ment? Directly,  little  or  nothing.  It  has  its 
very  justification  in  the  fact  that  the  ordinary 
means  of  direct  effort  have  proved  insufficient, 
and  these  it  proposes  to  supplement  by  indirect 
effort  of  various  sorts.  Some  of  the  methods 
already  suggested  in  connection  with  Bible  classes 
and  Brotherhoods  are  distinctly  institutional, 
"touching  young  men  on  physical,  social,  and  in- 
tellectual sides,  and  thereby  conciliating  them 
and  drawing  them  within  reach  of  the  gospel.'* 
The  question  as  to  what  institutional  churches 
have  to  offer  young  men  can  best  be  answered  by 
indicating  what  some  of  them  do  offer  and  some 
of  the  results  attained. 

B.    METHODS   AND   RESULTS 

I.  There  is  probably  none  more  thoroughly 
organized  and  highly  successful  in  its  ministering 
to  the  many  needs  of  young  men  than  Saint 
George's  Episcopal  Church  in  New  York  City,  of 
which  Rev.  W.  S.  Rainsford,  D.  D.,  has  been 
the  rector  for  over  twenty  years.  The  situation  at 
the  beginning  of  his  ministry  is  thus  described: 

1  The  Institutional  Church,  ^.yi. 


THE   INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH  I43 

"In  1883  there  was  only  a  handful  of  people 
in  attendance.  The  Sunday-school  had  dwindled 
to  two  or  three  hundred  and,  so  far  as  I  was  able 
to  discover,  none  of  the  working  people  of  the 
neighborhood  ever  stepped  across  the  threshold  of 
the  church.  The  district  (the  lower  end  of  the 
East  Side)  had  been  a  fashionable  residence  sec- 
tion, but  these  residences  were  being  rapidly 
changed  into  boarding  houses,  and  three  or  four 
families  therefore  entered  where  one  went  away. 
Still,  no  church  sought  them,  no  church  adapted 
its  services  to  their  special  needs,  and  conse- 
quently very  few  of   them  were  churchgoers."^ 

By  dint  of  heroic  effort,  supplemented  by  a  few 
paid  workers  and  a  large  body  of  volunteers, 
and  the  wise  use  of  manifold  means  to  minister 
to  the  physical,  intellectual,  and  social  natures  of 
these  hitherto  untouched  masses  of  people,  as 
avenues  of  approach  to  their  spiritual  natures, 
the  condition  then  existing  has  been  wonder- 
fully transformed.  A  membership  of  over  five 
hundred  has  grown  to  over  five  thousand,  with 
three  thousand  more  identified  with  the  church 
but  not  yet  communicants.  All  sittings  were 
made  free  and  the  large  increase  in  offerings  has 
come  mainly  from  people  in  poor  and  very 
moderate   circumstances. 

The  Men*s  Club,  largely  composed  of  young 
men,  has  rooms  and  a  gymnasium  in  the  parish 
house.      Ample   opportunities   are  provided   for 

» St  George's  Year-book^  1902,  p.  10. 


144     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

reading  and  recreation,  the  games  including  bil- 
liards, chess,  etc.  Lectures  and  social  gatherings 
are  frequent.  The  rooms  are  open  during  the 
week  from  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  eleven 
at  night,  and  on  Sunday  from  one  to  eleven. 
The  military  spirit,  that  seems  native  to  every 
healthy  young  American,  finds  expression  in  the 
Battalion  Club,  with  weekly  drills  and  a  summer 
camp.  The  Dramatic  and  Literary  Society  enlists 
the  activities  of  many.  A  thoroughly  equipped 
trade  school  under  competent  instructors  has 
three  hundred  attendants.  A  chapter  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Saint  Andrew  renders  valuable 
service  in  distinctly  spiritual  lines.  The  Sunday- 
school,  with  an  enrolment  of  over  two  thousand, 
has  nearly  five  hundred  young  men  fifteen  years 
old  and  over.  A  regular  system  of  progressive 
study  with  graded  courses,  examinations,  and 
promotions  contributes  much  to  this  unusual  but 
fortunate  state  of  affairs. 

Dr.  Rainsford  tersely  sums  up  the  advantages  of 
institutional  methods  by  saying  that  they  "bring 
the  fish  into  the  church  pond,"  and  the  steady 
stream  of  accessions  to  this  church  from  among 
those  thus  brought  under  the  influence  of  the 
gospel  seems  amply  to  warrant  their  employ- 
ment. 

2.  Another  great  church  in  the  metropolis  work- 
ing along  similar  lines  and  uplifting  and  enriching 
the  whole  lives  of  many  hundreds  of  young  men 
is  Saint  Bartholomew's  Episcopal,  Rev.  David  H. 


THE    INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH  1 45 

Greer,  D.D.,  rector.  Its  men's  club  has  a  lim- 
ited membership  of  six  hundred,  mostly  from 
twenty  to  thirty  years  of  age,  and  the  boy's  club 
enrolls  seven  hundred.  There  is  hardly  any  form 
of  assistance  that  is  not  given  in  some  way, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  its  great  constituency. 
In  addition  to  those  presented  in  the  preceding 
section  may  be  mentioned  a  roof  garden  on  the 
parish  house;  a  hospital,  with  nearly  eight  thou- 
sand cases  a  year;  an  employment  bureau,  con- 
sidering upwards  of  ten  thousand  applications  for 
work;  a  loan  association,  lending  nearly  ninety 
thousand  dollars  to  nine  hundred  persons;  a  fresh 
air  fund,  providing  four  thousand  persons  with 
seaside  outings  of  from  a  day  to  a  week.  Services 
are  conducted  in  English,  German,  Swedish,  Turk- 
ish, Syriac,  Armenian,  Persian,  and  Chinese. 

The  controlling  purpose  in  these  manifold  min- 
istries is  thus  well  expressed:  "The  ensuing  year 
compels  an  effort  for  the  creation  in  our  clubs  of 
a  yet  more  robust  and  refined  manhood,  of  a 
womanliness  stronger  and  sweeter,  and  of  a  boy- 
hood which  is  more  serious  and  manly.  We  can 
not  be  satisfied  until  the  varied  activities  of  the 
parish  house  have  created  lives  like  unto  His,  in 
whose  name  all  our  work  is  done."  * 

3.  Another  church  which  is  the  center  of  mani- 
fold ministries  to  the  unchurched  multitudes  of 
the  metropolis  is  the  Judson  Memorial  Baptist, 
Rev.  Edward  Judson,  D.D.,  pastor.     It  has  at  its 

1  St.  Bartholomew's  Year-book,  1902,  p.  50. 


146     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

command  neither  the  workers  nor  the  means  of 
the  two  preceding,  but  is  doing,  proportionately, 
a  no  less  effective  work.  Relatively  greater  atten- 
tion is  given  to  distinctively  spiritual  activities, 
there  being  an  evangelistic  service  every  night 
in  the  week  in  addition  to  various  classes  and 
clubs.  A  unique  feature  is  a  large  building  imme- 
diately adjoining  the  house  of  worship  in  which 
there  are  many  rooms  rented  to  young  men,  thus 
providing  comfortable  and  safe  quarters  for  them 
and  also  a  modest  revenue  for  church  support. 

Dr.  Judson*s  words,  born  of  long  experience  (he 
has  been  on  this  field  over  twenty  years),  are 
worth  quoting:  "It  would  be  well  if  the  young 
men  of  each  church  were  organized  into  a  society 
— a  kind  of  local  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. In  this  way  the  spirit  and  method  of  that 
great  organization  would  be  widely  diffused  and 
applied  at  a  myriad  different  points.  When  Satan 
proposes  to  debauch  a  city  full  of  people  he  does 
not  build  a  grand  central  saloon  at  one  conspicu- 
ous point  and  then  establish  three  or  four  addi- 
tional branches.  He  just  honey-combs  the  city, 
putting  a  cheerful  saloon  on  almost  every  corner. 
Now  the  church  edifices  are  pretty  evenly  distrib- 
uted throughout  the  city,  and  if  each  one  of 
them  should  become  a  center  of  light  and  cheer 
for  the  young  men  in  its  immediate  neighborhood 
the  problem  of  enlightening  the  city  would  be 
solved. 

"Let  the  young  men's  headquarters  consist,  if 


THE    INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH  1 47 

possible,  of  a  sitting-room,  a  library  and  reading- 
room,  and  a  gymnasium.  Let  the  sitting-room 
have  a  coffee  urn  in  the  corner,  a  fire-place,  easy 
chairs,  tables,  and  a  variety  of  innocent  games. 
If  a  young  man,  living  for  instance  in  a  hall  bed- 
room and  a  stranger  in  the  city,  is  at  a  loss  how 
to  spend  the  evening  socially ,  he  has  a  place 
where  he  can  meet  other  young  men  and  enjoy 
such  recreation  as  he  needs  after  the  day's  work 
is  done.  If  he  wants  to  study  or  read  he  has  a 
quiet,  comfortable  place  where  he  can  get  good 
books,  as  well  as  the  periodicals  of  the  day.  If, 
after  hours  of  sedentary  occupation,  he  needs 
to  stretch  his  muscles,  he  can  take  instruction  in 
gymnastics  under  a  teacher  who  understands  the 
science  of  body-building.  In  this  way  he  is 
gently  and  unconsciously  lured  within  the  influ- 
ence of  the  church.  What  we  need  is  a  kind  of 
a  half-way  house  on  the  road  leading  from  the 
saloon  to  the  prayer-meeting.  Nowadays  you 
can  not  swing  religion  into  a  young  man's  con- 
sciousness prayer-meeting  end  to.  A  young  man 
in  a  great  city  finds  himself  peculiarly  solitary, 
and  it  is  so  much  easier  to  form  bad  companion- 
ships than  good!  Each  church  has  a  great  work 
to  do  in  the  line  of  throwing  around  strangers 
allurements  of  friendliness."  ^ 

4.  These  are  but  three  of  a  large  and  growing 
number  of  churches  that  in  many  cities  are  sup- 
plementing their  usual  activities  to  a  greater  or 

»  The  Institutional  Church,  pp.  180, 181. 


148     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

less  extent  by  these  manifold  ministries  to  other 
than  purely  spiritual  needs.  The  extent  to  which 
they  "bring  the  fish  into  the  church  pond"  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  church  affiliations  of  the  Men*s 
Club  of  Christ  Church,  Episcopal,  in  Cincinnati. 
The  total  membership  is  429,  distributed  as 
follows:  Episcopalian,  113;  Roman  Catholic,  52; 
Presbyterian,  35;  Baptist,  15;  Methodist,  15; 
Congregational,  8;  Lutheran,  8;  German  Protes- 
tant, 3;  Disciple,  3;  Quaker,  i;  members  of  some 
church  but  not  stated,  20;  members  of  no  church, 
156.  These  figures  indicate  a  real  desire  for  such 
advantages,  and  it  is  significant  that  those  who 
are  members  of  other  churches,  and  also  those  who 
are  members  of  no  church,  in  each  case  outnum- 
ber the  members  of  the  church  providing  them. 

C.    REQUISITES   AND   STANDARDS   OF    SUCCESS 

Here  is  a  great  field  of  opportunity  for  most 
churches.  Not  for  all,  as  there  are  some  whose 
situation,  as  for  example  in  comfortable  residence 
districts  or  near  a  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  building,  is  such  that  these  additional 
features  are  either  little  needed  or  already  pro- 
vided. But  the  great  majority  of  churches  in  all 
our  towns  and  cities  are  not  so  situated.  Multi- 
tudes of  young  men,  especially  those  who  live  in 
boarding  houses,  whose  nature  craves  companion- 
ship and  sociability,  have  practically  no  proper 
means  of  satisfying  those  healthful  desires.  In 
search  of  evening  recreation  they  pass  the  closed 


THE    INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH  1 49 

doors  of  darkened  church  buildings  and  enter, 
partly  through  choice  to  be  sure,  but  in  no  small 
degree  through  practical  necessity,  the  open  doors 
of  brilliantly  lighted  places  of  sin.  "But  it  is  the 
business  of  the  church  to  preach  the  gospel,"  says 
the  chronic  objector  to  anything  that  the  fathers 
did  not  do.  Assuredly,  but  that  gospel,  which 
to-day  as  much  as  ever  is  the  sovereign  remedy 
for  all  human  woe,  is  not  to  be  preached  to  a 
"dead  wood-yard  of  empty  pews,"  such  as  most 
ministers  address  twice  every  Sunday.  Rather  is 
it  to  be  preached  to  living  men,  and  whatever  in 
the  way  of  institutional  means  that  in  itself  is 
proper  will  help  to  bring  them  within  sound  of 
the  gospel  is  not  only  legitimate  but  necessary. 
Changed  and  rapidly  changing  conditions  of  life, 
especially  in  cities  and  towns  but  also  to  no  small 
extent  in  country  districts  as  well,  make  it  imper- 
ative that  the  church  which  wants  to  be  instru- 
mental in  bringing  young  men  into  the  kingdom 
of  God  shall  also  change,  not  its  essential  message 
— provided  only  it  be  Christ's  message,  but  the 
methods  by  which  it  seeks  to  bring  them  within 
the  hearing  of  that  message. 

This  does  not  for  a  moment  mean  that  every 
church  must  straightway  inaugurate  the  exten- 
sive plans  of,  for  example.  Saint  George's  Church. 
Even  if  it  were  possible  it  would  in  all  probability 
result  in  failure.  The  rector  said  to  the  writer: 
"Men  come  and  ask  for  the  privilege  of  copying 
the  plans  of  our  parish  house:  they  might  as  well 


150     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ask  for  a  suit  of  my  old  clothes."  And  then  he 
went  on  to  indicate  how  every  department  of 
the  great  work  carried  on  there  was  the  outgrowth 
of  years  of  careful  study  of  local  conditions  and 
many  experiments.  While  the  one  purpose  is 
everywhere  the  same,  to  win  the  confidence  and 
friendship  of  those  now  alienated,  and  while  in 
a  broadly  general  way  the  needs  are  similar,  yet 
in  no  two  cities  and  in  no  two  places  in  the  same 
city  are  the  local  conditions  exactly  alike.  A 
check  for  a  thousand  dollars  or  a  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  is  neither  essential  to  the  beginning 
nor  will  it  ensure  the  success  of  institutional  work 
on  behalf  of  young  men.  There  must  also  be, 
first,  last,  and  all  the  time,  a  thorough  study  of 
a  constantly  changing  situation,  and  a  constant 
adaptation  of  methods  to  its  ever  new  demands. 

The  term  institutional  is  confessedly  unfortunate 
because  it  savors  of  mechanism.  Dr.  Strong*s 
words  express  what  is  all  too  true:  "The  average 
Christian  to-day  is  hiring  his  religious  work  done 
by  proxy — by  societies,  institutions,  the  minister, 
the  city  missionary.  He  is  so  very  busy  that  he 
would  rather  give  his  money  than  his  time.  His 
interest  in  his  fellow  men,  therefore,  is  expressed 
through  various  organizations  which  make  a  bus- 
iness of  philanthropy.  Thus  our  Christian  work 
has  become  largely  institutional  rather  than  per- 
sonal, and,  therefore,  largely  mechanical  instead 
of  vital."* 

»  The  New  Era,  p.  218. 


THE    INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH  I51 

This  danger  of  mere  mechanical  action  con- 
fronts every  church  that  wishes  to  do  this  wider 
work,  which  for  lack  of  better  term  is  called 
institutional.  An  open  building  with  reading  and 
social  rooms,  gymnasium,  and  every  possible 
means  of  ministering  to  these  other  than  strictly 
religious  needs,  will  avail  but  little  unless  there  be 
an  abundance  of  warm-hearted  fellowship.  And 
this  must  be  thoroughly  genuine,  for  no  one  will 
detect  sham  cordiality  more  quickly  and  shun  it 
more  surely  than  the  young  men  upon  whom  it  is 
patronizingly  lavished.  Without  genuine,  manly 
sympathy  (and  sympathy  seldom  means  tears) 
with  the  hopes  and  aspirations  as  well  as  with  the 
conflicts  and  temptations  of  young  men,  such  as  is 
born  only  of  a  real  heart  love  for  them,  the  most 
magnificent  equipment  will  be  a  dismal  failure; 
with  it,  the  most  meager  will  have  good  suc- 
cess. 

What  is  the  measure  of  the  success  of  institu- 
tional work  on  behalf  of  young  men?  Is  it  the 
number  who  are  strengthened  in  body  by  its  gym- 
nasium, or  led  into  a  richer  life  mentally  by  its 
lectures  and  classes,  or  helped  to  a  larger  life  of 
social  relationships  and  civic  consciousness  by  its 
clubs  and  debating  societies?  In  part,  yes.  These 
and  the  various  other  results  of  a  not  strictly  relig- 
ious sort  are  worth  attaining  in  and  of  them- 
selves. Whatever  helps  a  young  man  physically, 
mentally,  or  socially  is  a  good  thing,  and  results 
along   these  lines  properly   have  some  place  in 


152     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

estimating  the  success  of  institutional  church 
methods. 

Moreover  this  widening  of  the  ministries  of 
the  church  is  but  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
founder  of  Christianity.  "It  aims,  as  Christ's 
body,  to  furnish  the  material  environment  through 
which  His  spirit  can  be  practically  expressed  to 
the  age  in  which  it  exists.  It  'seeks  to  become 
the  center  and  source  of  all  beneficent  and  philan- 
thropic effort,  and  to  take  part  in  every  move- 
ment which  has  for  its  end  the  alleviation  of  all 
human  suffering,  the  elevation  of  man,  and  the 
betterment  of  the  world.*  This  is  simply  follow- 
ing the  example  of  Him  who  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto  but  to  minister;  who  went  about 
doing  good,  healing  the  sick,  comforting  the 
afflicted,  feeding  the  hungry,  and  sitting  with  sin- 
ners that  He  might  show  them  the  way  of  life.*  ^ 
All  these  results,  good  and  worthy  in  themselves, 
do,  therefore,  have  a  place  in  estimating  the  value 
of  institutional  church  work. 

But  they  do  not  have  first  place.  This  must  be 
constantly  remembered.  That  this  is  clearly  in 
the  minds  of  the  leaders  in  this  movement  of 
church  extension  is  apparent  from  the  words  of 
Rev.  C.  L.  Thompson,  D.D.,  president  of  the 
Open  and  Institutional  Church  League.  Speaking 
of  the  institutional  church  he  says:  "It  believes 
that  there  is  no  other  name  but  the  name  of 
Christ  whereby  men  must  be  saved.     It  believes 

^  Modem  Methods  in  Church  Work,  p.  7. 


THE    INSTITUTIONAL   CHURCH  1 53 

that  it  will  profit  us  nothing  to  gain  the  world 
and  lose  our  souls,  or  life.  It  holds  firmly  to  the 
supremacy  of  eternal  life.  Its  ultimate  aim  is 
to  bring  men  to  the  knowledge,  faith,  and  ser- 
vice of  the  Redeemer.  It  would  count  church 
work  a  failure  that  did  not  result  in  lives  re- 
newed by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  More 
than  this,  it  is  willing  to  have  its  work  tested  and 
judged  by  its  fealty  to  and  its  success  in  the 
supreme  work  of  bringing  men  to  Christ.'*  * 

Although  institutional  methods  have,  in  the 
foregoing  discussion,  been  considered  only  as 
means  for  "gently  luring  young  men  within  the 
influence  of  the  church,"  and  they  prove  of  large 
value  as  such,  this  is  by  no  means  their  sole 
purpose  or  result.  They  also  afford  powerful 
means  of  keeping  them  in  the  church,  by  furnish- 
ing definite  avenues  through  which  the  new  spirit- 
ual life  may  find  practical  expression  and  so  be 
strengthened.  As  clearly  indicated  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages,  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  the 
church  fails  to  hold  young  men  after  it  gets  them, 
lies  in  its  failure  to  provide  forms  of  practical 
activity  worthy  of  their  best  endeavor.  In  sup- 
plying this  real  need  such  methods  have  high 
value.  The  parable  of  Jesus,  recorded  in  Matthew 
12:43-45,  is  of  great  significance  in  this  connec- 
tion. 

Judged  by  this  double  test  of  both  reaching  and 
holding  them,  institutional  church  work  on  behalf 

1  Modem  Methods  in  Church  Work,  p.  5. 


154     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

of  young  men,  if  properly  conducted — and  that 
involves  always  a  constant  recognition  of  its 
ultimate  purpose  as  just  stated;  the  wise  use  of 
all  means,  both  primary  and  secondary,  which  will 
contribute  to  its  accomplishment;  and  such  flex- 
ibility of  methods  as  a  constant  study  of  chang- 
ing conditions  shall  find  necessary — not  only  may 
prove  but  in  many  churches  is  proving  a  most 
valuable  ally  of  the  more  distinctly  religious 
work  in  effecting  their  spiritual  betterment. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    YOUNG    MEN'S    CHRISTIAN    ASSOCIATION 

Any  survey  of  modern  agencies  for  the  spirit- 
ual betterment  of  young  men  would  be  deficient 
in  the  extreme  if  it  failed  to  take  account  of 
this  great  work.  The  words  of  Dr.  Charles  Cuth- 
bert  Hall,  president  of  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary, New  York,  are  well  deserved.  "If  I  were 
asked  to  name  the  agency  that,  within  the  last 
few  years  has  been  most  helpful  to  the  church 
of  Christ,  and  most  successful  in  winning  men  to 
the  Christian  life,  without  hesitation  I  would  name 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  By  its 
able  system  of  Bible  study,  by  the  virile,  hopeful, 
winsome  tone  of  its  meetings  for  men,  by  the 
wisdom  of  its  methods  of  personal  work,  and  by 
its  cosmopolitan  brotherliness,  it  has,  in  my  judg- 
ment, reached  the  highest  level  of  efficiency 
attained  by  the  moral  and  spiritual  forces  of  our 
time."^ 

A  brief  resum^  of  the  history  of  the  movement 
will  first  be  given  in  order  to  help  to  a  better 
understanding  of  the  Association  as  it  exists  to- 
day. Following  this  will  be  a  survey  of  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  the  work,  with  brief  mention  of 
the  chief  points  in  all  of  its  many  departments. 

*  Association  Men,  January,  1902. 
155 


156     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

The  few  criticisms  to  be  made  will  be  in  line 
with  those  in  the  study  as  a  whole,  always  with 
the  fullest  appreciation  of  the  good  that  is  being 
done  and  with  the  earnest  hope  of  being  even  in 
a  slight  degree  promotive  of  increased  efficiency. 
The  material  of  this  chapter  has  been  secured 
from  two  sets  of  reports  by  secretaries,  on  general 
religious  work  and  shop  meetings,  from  personal 
interviews,  and  official  publications  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

A.    BEGINNINGS 

The  old  adage,  "Great  oaks  from  little  acorns 
grow,'*  never  had  clearer  illustration  than  in  the 
history  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
In  1835  George  Williams,  the  fifteen  year  old  son 
of  a  yeoman  in  the  south  of  England,  was  ap- 
prenticed by  his  father  to  a  merchant  in  Bridge- 
water.  Coming  under  the  influence  of  two  or 
three  fellow  employees  who  were  earnest  Christ- 
ians, he  was  persuaded,  the  next  year,  to  give  his 
own  heart  to  Christ.  These  few  decided  to  work 
for  the  salvation  of  the  other  employees,  who 
numbered  over  sixty.  They  began  by  holding 
prayer-meetings  in  their  own  rooms,  which  were 
on  the  upper  floors  of  the  establishment,  and 
their  efforts  soon  resulted  in  over  a  score  of  con- 
versions and  the  spreading  of  the  work  to  near- 
by villages. 

In  1841  Williams  went  to  London  and  entered  a 
larger  establishment.     Here,  with  a  fellow  Christ- 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  1 57 

ian,  the  same  sort  of  work  was  begun.  It  soon 
outgrew  their  little  rooms  and  larger  quarters 
were  given  by  the  firm.  The  movement  spread 
to  other  establishments  and  in  1844  a  federation 
of  workers  was  organized,  known  as  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  This  wider  work 
required  some  public  place  where  men  from  the 
different  houses  could  meet,  and  soon  demanded 
the  entire  attention  of  a  paid  secretary.  At  some 
small  sacrifice  both  of  these  were  provided,  and 
the  Association  was  thus  established  on  a  firm 
basis. 

,  Its  primary  aim,  as  already  noted,  was  dis- 
tinctively spiritual,  yet  it  was  soon  seen  that  the 
organization  could  wisely  minister  to  intellectual 
needs  as  well,  both  as  a  worthy  end  in  itself  and 
as  a  helpful  means  to  the  promotion  of  spiritual 
betterment.  A  further  widening  early  came  in 
the  introduction  of  social  features,  likewise 
doubly  justifiable.  "Here  was  the  beginning  of 
the  fundamental  idea  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  that  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  intended  to  save,  redeem  and  develop 
the  whole  man,  body,  soul,  and  spirit — an  idea 
which  has  become  dominant  in  the  modern 
church,  and  which  was  to  find  its  first  organized 
expression  in  this  Association."  * 

A  few  years  later  the  movement  crossed  the 
Atlantic,  and  in  185 1  Associations  were  formed  in 
Montreal  and  Boston,  in  the  order  named,  copied 

^History  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  p.  51. 


158     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

after  the  English  societies  but  entirely  independ- 
ent of  them  and  of  each  other.  Here,  as  in  the 
mother  country,  the  idea  soon  began  to  spread 
and  Associations  were  established  in  the  principal 
cities.  Inside  of  two  years  the  number  was  ovet 
twenty,  and  the  advisability  of  a  federation 
began  to  be  discussed.  This  was  accomplished 
in  1854,  at  Buffalo,  in  a  convention  of  delegates 
from  as  widely  scattered  points  as  Portland  and 
San  Francisco,  Toronto  and  New  Orleans.  The 
working  force  of  the  new  voluntary  federation 
was  a  Central  Committee,  to  "maintain  cor- 
respondence with  American  and  foreign  kindred 
bodies,  promote  the  formation  of  new  Associ- 
ations, collect  and  diffuse  information,  and  from 
time  to  time  recommend  to  the  Associations  such 
measures  as  may  seem  calculated  to  promote  the 
general  object;  but  it  shall  not  have  authority  to 
commit  any  local  Association  to  any  proposed 
plan  of  action  until  approved  by  said  Association, 
nor  to  assess  any  pecuniary  rate  upon  them  with- 
out their  consent."  ^  Thus  clearly  was  the 
independence  of  each  Association  defined  and 
guarded,  and  so  continues  at  the  present  day. 
Each  is  a  law  unto  itself,  yet  all  act  in  harmo- 
ny by  reason  of  common  aims  and  a  common 
spirit. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  federation  the 
way  was  prepared  for  that  large  growth  which 
has   made    the    Association   one    of    the    most 

» History  of  the  Y.M.C.A.,  p.  136! 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  1 59 

important  factors  in  the  life  of  our  nation  for 
the  uplifting  and  enrichment  of  young  manhood, 
physically,  mentally,  socially,  and  spiritually. 
The  work  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  is 
under  the  advisory  supervision  of  the  Inter- 
national Committee,  a  development  of  the  earlier 
Central  Committee,  with  headquarters  at  No.  3 
West  29th  Street,  New  York  City.  Mr.  Richard 
C.  Morse  is  the  general  secretary  and  there  are 
numerous  department  secretaries. 

Meanwhile  the  movement  was  spreading  to 
other  countries.  The  community  of  purpose 
existing  between  these  scattered  and  wholly 
independent  organizations  led  to  a  recognition  of 
the  need  of  some  form  of  union  for  the  better 
furtherance  of  the  work.  Accordingly  on  the 
invitation  of  the  Paris  Association  nearly  one 
hundred  representatives,  from  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic,  met  in  that  city  in  August,  1855.  This 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  World's  Alli- 
ance of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  and 
the  consequent  putting  of  the  movement  on  an 
international  basis. 

"The  Association  had  introduced  a  new  institu- 
tion into  society;  it  had  rallied  a  new  social 
force — Christian  young  men.  It  had  marshaled 
them  into  an  organization  which  was  now  to 
step  forth  and  take  its  place  among  the  institu- 
tions of  society."  ^ 

» History  of  the  Y.M.CA.,  p.  180. 


l6o     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 
B.  GROWTH 

The  history  of  the  growth  of  the  Association 
can  not  even  be  sketched  here.  What  it  has 
been,  under  divine  blessing,  will  appear  from 
the  following  extract  from  the  January,  1903, 
number  of  Association  Men^  the  official  organ  of 
the  movement. 

' '  The  American  Association  Record  for  igo2. 

"Twelve  million  dollars  represents  in  round 
figures  the  amount  shown  on  the  records  of  the 
American  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  as 
expended  and  available  in  1902  for  their  work, 
for  the  payment  of  bonded  debts,  for  endow- 
ment, and  for  the  erection  of  new  buildings. 
This  sum  includes  in  some  instances  the  culmin- 
ating work  of  two  and  three  years.  .  .  .  The 
membership  list,  with  lapsed  names  eliminated, 
has  over-topped  300,000,  and  the  number  of 
Associations  exceeds  1,600.  There  has  been 
steady  progress  in  numbers,  in  efficiency,  and  in 
service;  but  especially  notable  and  significant  is 
the  comprehensive  study  of  Association  problems 
and  the  apprehension  of  the  needs  of  young  men 
and  the  adaptation  of  the  Association  to  meet 
them.  ...  A  movement  for  the  4,000,000  men 
engaged  in  manufacturing  pursuits,  which  will 
reach  skilled  mechanics,  lumbermen,  miners, 
cotton-mill  operatives,  etc.,  has  taken  shape  and 
will  be  developed  under  the  International  Com- 
mittee's guidance.     Street  Railway  Associations, 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION    l6l 

sustained  by  the  traction  companies  in  Brooklyn 
andRochester,  inaugurate  that  new  movement.  .  .  . 
The  Railroad  Association  membership  exceeds  50,- 
000;  Student  Department,  40,000;  Boys'  Depart- 
ment, 50,000;  and  the  Army  and  Navy,  Colored, 
and  Indian  Associations  show  increase.  Nearly 
30,000  young  men  are  in  the  evening  schools. 
Working  boys  between  twelve  and  eighteen  are 
drawn  in  large  numbers  into  the  evening  classes 
and  given  education  as  well  as  evening  recreation. 
The  200  summer  camps  enlisted  fully  5,000  boys. 
.  .  .  The  first  permanent  building  for  the  Naval 
Association,  costing  $450,000,  has  been  opened  in 
Brooklyn  and  is  already  crowded  to  its  utmost 
limits.  This  has  been  followed  by  Associations 
at  Norfolk  and  Newport.  .  .  .  With  the  sanction 
of  Congress,  two  new  buildings  are  being  erected 
for  soldiers  at  army  posts.  Quarters  are  set  apart 
at  seventy-one  army  posts  for  Soldiers'  Associa- 
tions, with  the  approval  of  commanding  officers, 
and  work  is  done  on  many  battleships.  .  .  .  The 
way  has  been  found  to  organize  and  help  young 
men  in  isolated  country  places  by  County  Associa- 
tions. .  .  .  The  missionary  spirit  characterizes  the 
movement.  Gifts  for  foreign  work  have  increased 
from  ;g>55,ooo  to  $80,000,  and  twelve  of  the  best 
secretaries  have  been  sent  out  to  foreign  lands 
during  the  year,  and  Association  work  has  been 
extended  to  Mexico.  .  .  .  Growth  has  been  most 
notable  in  the  Associations  of  the  South,  of  the 
Northwest,  and  among  railroad  men.  .  .  .  There 


of 


tA\ 


l62     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

are  now  450  buildings  owned,  costing  over  $24,- 
cxx),ooo;  1,800  paid  officers  on  the  list;  the  Inter- 
national Committee  has  secured  its  first  million 
dollars  of  endowment,  and  the  State  committees 
have  made  good  progress  in  the  same  direction. 
There  has  never  been  so  deep  an  interest  and 
so  large  an  attendance  in  Bible  classes  and  reli- 
gious services  as  in  the  past  year;  78,000  men  a 
Sunday  for  nine  months  are  in  evangelistic  meet- 
ings, and  43,000  men  attend  the  Bible  classes.  The 
number  of  Associations  throughout  the  world  is 
7. 507*  with  620,721  members,  owning  and  occupy- 
ing 737  buildings,  valued  at  over  $32,000,000.** 

All  of  the  various  departments  mentioned  here 
will  be  treated  more  or  less  fully  further  on.  This 
extract  has  been  given  as  affording  a  general  sur- 
vey of  the  manifold  work  of  the  Associations, 
such  as  could  hardly  be  secured  from  separate 
accounts,  however  concise. 

Another  indication  of  the  growth  of  the  move- 
ment is  afforded  by  the  many  lines  of  work  carried 
on  by  the  great  city  Associations,  for  example  the 
one  in  Chicago.  It  is  organized  on  the  metro- 
p)olitan  plan,  with  a  general  board  of  managers, 
trustees  and  officers.  The  work  is  divided  into 
three  branches,  general,  railroad,  and  student. 
There  are  five  general  departments,  one  at  the 
center  of  the  city,  occupying  one  of  the  finest 
Association  buildings  in  the  world,  and  the  others 
in  outlying  districts.  Five  railroad  departments 
offer  physical,  mental,   and  spiritual  advantages 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION    163 

to  a  class  of  men  to  whom  millions  of  people 
daily  entrust  their  lives.  Sixteen  student  depart- 
ments, in  connection  with  as  many  colleges  and 
professional  schools,  help  to  counteract  the  too 
often  antispiritual  tendencies  of  student  life  and 
to  insure  trained  leaders,  both  ministers  and  lay- 
men, for  the  churches.  A  foreign  secretary  is 
also  supported  in  the  Island  of  Ceylon.  The 
annual  budget  is  over  ;|>i  50,000,  while  the  total 
value  of  all  property  is  over  $2,000,000.  The  gen- 
eral secretary  is  Mr.  L.Wilbur  Messer. 

C.    MEMBERSHIP   BASIS 

A  marked  feature  of  the  history  of  the  Asso- 
ciation has  been  its  constant  adherence  to  the 
principle  that  it  is  primarily  a  Christian  organiza- 
tion, with  active  membership  limited  to  professed 
followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  constitution  of 
the  original  Association,  formed  by  George  Wil- 
liams and  his  associates  in  London  in  1844,  it  was 
provided:  "That  no  person  shall  be  considered 
eligible  to  become  a  member  of  this  Association 
unless  he  be  a  member  of  a  Christian  church,  or 
there  be  sufficient  evidence  of  his  being  a  convert- 
ed character."  ^ 

In  the  founding  of  the  Boston  Association,  in 
185 1,  the  question  was  an  acute  one,  owing  to  the 
large  number  of  Unitarian  and  Universalist 
churches.  After  much  consideration  the  promo- 
ters of  the  movement  unanimously  adopted  a  con- 

i  History  oftha  Y.  M.  C  A.,  p.  41. 


164     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

stitution  providing  for  two  classes  of  membership: 
(i)  active,  confined  to  members  in  regular  stand- 
ing of  evangelical  churches;  (2)  associate,  any- 
young  man  of  good  moral  character,  such  being 
entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  Association 
except  eligibility  to  office  and  voting.^  Upon 
the  establishment  of  the  World's  Alliance  at 
Paris,  in  1855,  the  following  statement  was  adopted 
as  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Association 
movement:  "The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions seek  to  unite  those  young  men  who,  regard- 
ing Jesus  Christ  as  their  God  and  Saviour  accord- 
ing to  the  holy  Scriptures,  desire  to  be  His  disci- 
ples in  their  doctrine  and  in  their  life,  and  to 
associate  their  efforts  for  the  extension  of  His 
kingdom  among  men."  *  This  has  been  known 
ever  since  as  the  Paris  Basis  and  is  considered 
"the  most  notable  declaration  of  Association 
history." 

It  was  perhaps  in  part  due  to  the  characteristic 
American  spirit  of  independence  that  the  question 
continued  to  be  debated  in  this  country,  for  since 
every  Association  is  an  independent  body  it  may 
make  its  own  regulations.  The  need  was  increas- 
ingly felt  of  some  authoritative  statement  upon 
the  qualifications  for  active  membership.  As  there 
was  no  governing  body,  this  could  only  take  the 
form  of  a  resolution  at  one  of  the  annual  national 
conventions,  defining  what  Associations  should  be 
entitled  to  representation. 

I  History  pf  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  pp.  115-117.    '  Same,  p.  177. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION    1 65 

At  the  Detroit  convention  in  1868,  the  follow- 
ing was  adopted:  ''Resolved:  That  as  these  organ- 
izations bear  the  name  of  Christian  and  profess 
to  be  engaged  directly  in  the  Saviour's  service,  so 
it  is  clearly  their  duty  to  maintain  the  control 
and  management  of  all  their  affairs  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  profess  to  love  and  publicly  avow 
their  faith  in  Jesus,  the  Redeemer,  as  divine, 
and  who  testify  their  faith  by  becoming  and  re- 
maining members  of  churches  held  to  be  evan- 
gelical, and  that  such  persons  and  none  others 
should  be  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office." 

At  the  Portland  convention,  in  1869,  the  follow- 
ing definition  was  added:  "And  we  hold  those 
churches  to  be  evangelical  which,  maintaining  the 
holy  Scriptures  to  be  the  only  infallible  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  do  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  (the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords,  in  whom  dwelleth  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  who  was  made 
sin  for  us,  though  knowing  no  sin,  bearing  our 
sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree),  as  the  only 
name  given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be 
saved  from  everlasting  punishment,  and  unto  life 
eternal."^  The  last  four  words  were  added  by 
the  International  Convention  of  1893. 

This  test  need  not  bar  any  young  man  from  en- 
joying all  the  privileges  of  the  Association  and 
that  to  a  large  extent  it  does  not  do  so  appears 
from  the  fact  that  in  one  case,  the  central  depart- 

*  Pamphlet  on  The  Test  of  Active  Membership,  pp.  14, 15. 


1 66     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ment  in  Chicago,  there  are  more  members  who 
belong  to  Roman  Catholic  churches  than  to  any- 
Protestant  denomination,  while  there  are  very 
nearly  as  many  Jews  as  Lutherans,  besides  a 
considerable  number  of  Unitarians  and  Univer- 
salists. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  experience  of  half  a  cen- 
tury has  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  adherence 
to  this  test.  It  is  the  distinctively  religious  ele- 
ment in  Association  work  which  furnishes  a  sub- 
stantial basis  for  the  whole.  "The  character 
of  the  work  of  the  Association  is  first  and  frankly 
Christian.  It  does  not  apologize  for  its  faith, 
and  in  the  fullest  and  largest  measure  endeavors 
to  make  its  faith  and  the  influence  of  that  faith 
of  first  and  supreme  importance.  It  stands  for 
the  common  faith  of  the  evangelical  churches, 
all  of  which  are,  under  its  charter,  represented 
in  its  membership  and  boards  of  managers.*** 
While  its  privileges  are  open  to  all,  its  govern- 
ment is  wisely  intrusted  only  to  the  members  of 
the  churches  which  it  represents. 

D.    LINES   OF   WORK 

I.  Religious.  Turning  to  a  survey  of  the  many 
lines  of  Association  activity  the  distinctively 
religious  naturally  comes  first,  not  only  because 
it  was  first  developed  but  because  it  is  of  the  first 
importance.  It  is  primarily  for  the  spiritual  bet- 
terment of  young  men  that  the  Association  exists, 

»  Chicago  Association  Report^  1901,  p.  9. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION    167 

and  the  chief  means  to  the  attainment  of  this  end 
is  distinctively  religious  effort.  Its  other  work 
may  be  done  with  the  greatest  success,  but  if  this 
be  left  undone  the  Association,  as  such,  has  no 
justification  for  its  existence — it  is  only  a  club, 
and  not  a  distinctively  religious  organization. 
"The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  dif- 
ferentiated from  merely  recreative,  educational, 
or  ethical  movements  by  its  pervading  spiritual 
intent  and  its  aggressive  religious  activity.  The 
establishment  of  righteousness  through  complete 
self-surrender  to  and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
Saviour  and  Master  is  its  fundamental  and  con- 
trolling purpose."  * 

There  are  several  divisions  of  this  work: 
i)  Bible  study.  This  is  subdivided  into  four  sec- 
tions; (a)  general,  to  furnish  a  comprehensive 
grasp  of  the  Scriptures;  (b)  devotional,  for  the 
promotion  of  spiritual  growth;  (c)  for  training, 
in  public  work,  as  church  and  Sunday-school;  (d) 
evangelistic,  for  winning  young  men  to  Christ. 
A  large  number  of  carefully  prepared  and  graded 
courses  have  been  provided  by  able  teachers, 
covering  the  entire  range  of  Bible  history  and 
teaching,  and  such  related  topics  as  New  Testa- 
ment Greek,  hymnology  and  practical  problems. 
These  usually  contain  twenty-five  lessons  and  end 
with  a  written  examination,  the  questions  being 
furnished  by  the  International  Committee,  and 
certificates  granted  by  them.     In  the  Boston  Asso- 

»  Pamphlet  on  The  Religious  Work :  Principles  and  Methods,  p.  5. 


l68     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

ciation  there  were  seventeen  classes  the  past 
year;  Philadelphia,  twenty-one;  Rochester, 
twenty-seven;  Buffalo,  twenty-one;  Cleveland, 
forty;  Dayton,  twenty-eight;  Chicago,  eighteen; 
St.  Louis,  twelve.  Occasional  Bible  lectures  are 
given  on  themes  of  general  interest,  and  home 
study  courses  have  been  introduced  for  those 
who  can  not  attend  the  classes. 

2)  Religious  meetings.  These  are  of  various 
kinds,  but  the  best  known,  held  by  practically  all 
city  Associations,  is  the  Sunday  afternoon  men's 
meeting.  This  commonly,  though  not  always, 
has  a  distinctly  evangelistic  purpose,  and  is  thus 
the  direct  successor  of  the  meetings  first  estab- 
lished in  London  by  Williams  and  his  associates. 
Some  of  its  advantages  are  thus  given  by  several 
secretaries.  "We  get  hold  of  a  class  of  men 
who  are  prejudiced  against  churches  and  will  not 
attend  their  services;  we  aim  to  reach  men  who 
sleep  late  Sunday  mornings  and  spend  the  even- 
ing in  social  pleasures,  and  so  would  not  be  in  any 
religious  service  but  for  this;  men  are  brought 
under  gospel  influence  who  would  not  be  other- 
wise, and  are  led  to  conversion  and  church  mem- 
bership; a  distinctively  men's  meeting  appeals 
to  many  and  some  will  take  a  stand  who  would 
not  do  so  in  a  mixed  meeting;  many  night  work- 
ers find  this  their  only  opportunity  for  attending 
a  religious  service  on  Sunday;  it  is  good  as  a 
common  meeting  for  members  of  different 
churches,    thereby    promoting    wider     Christian 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION    1 69 

fellowship."  That  it  is  sometimes  so  conducted 
as  to  be  practically  another  church  service  and 
hence  to  become  to  some  extent  a  rival,  over- 
taxing the  strength  of  some  and  giving  to  others 
an  excuse  for  not  attending  evening  services,  is 
no  doubt  true.  On  the  whole,  however,  there 
can  be  no  question  but  that  it  is  a  great  power 
for  good,  and  one  that  deserves  even  heartier 
support. 

In  the  Cleveland  Association  the  "pleasant 
Sunday  afternoon"  idea  has  been  largely  devel- 
oped, the  purpose  being  to  furnish  a  wholesome 
and  thoroughly  enjoyable  counter-attraction  to 
the  many  distractions  that  in  most  cities  are  turn- 
ing a  religious  holy-day  into  a  secular  holiday. 
Beginning  at  a  quarter  before  three  o'clock,  a 
musical  program  by  the  Association  orchestra  is 
followed  by  an  address  by  some  speaker  of  local 
or  national  reputation.  At  four  comes  a  social 
half-hour,  when  men  stroll  about  the  commodious 
building  or  listen  to  an  informal  program  of  vocal 
music.  Bible  study  occupies  the  next  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  voluntary  groups  being 
formed  on  lines  of  social  affiliation  and  the 
topics  discussed  with  the  utmost  freedom.  The 
afternoon  closes  with  supper  in  the  gymnasium, 
for  which  each  pays  a  small  fee  covering  the  cost. 
From  first  to  last  those  in  charge  try  to  make 
the  afternoon  as  completely  informal  and  genu- 
inely social  as  possible  in  keeping  with  the  title 
"The  Sunday  Club."      The  plan  has  proved  very 


170     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

popular,  and  the  Association  workers  have  thus 
been  brought  into  close  touch  with  many  young 
men  whom  they  would  not  have  reached  other- 
wise. 

Smaller  meetings,  more  distinctively  for  the 
furtherance  of  personal  spiritual  life,  are  com- 
monly held,  as  also  morning  and  evening  prayer 
services,  usually  quite  informal.  There  are 
special  meetings  daily  during  the  Association 
Week  of  Prayer,  beginning  with  the  second  Sun- 
day in  November,  and  also  at  such  other  times 
as  may  seem  advantageous.  Large  city  Associ- 
ations often  hold  noon  meetings  every  week-day, 
this  having  been  the  custom  in  Chicago  for  thirty 
years.  Meetings  are  also  held  outside  the 
Association  quarters,  as  in  jails,  hospitals, 
churches,  tents,  and  shops.  The  last  named 
will  be  presented  in  a  special  section. 

Some  idea  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  distinc- 
tively religious  work  appears  from  the  number  of 
professed  conversions  reported  by  many  Associ- 
ations for  one  year,  among  them  being  St.  Paul, 
210;  Des  Moines,  'j'j\  St.  Louis,  100;  Chicago, 
over 200;  Dayton,  74;  and  Rochester,  3CX).  That 
many  who  are  thus  converted  do  not  become 
church  members  is  unfortunately  true.  The 
reason  lies  chiefly  in  the  lack  of  coordination  of 
the  Association  and  the  churches,  which  will  be 
considered  in  the  last  section  of  the  chapter. 

3)  Personal  work.  By  this  is  meant  direct 
individual  effort   to   win  young   men    to   Christ. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN^S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION    I7I 

This  is  usually  furthered  by  a  personal  workers* 
league,  which  meets  regularly  for  Bible  study  and 
consultation,  under  an  experienced  leader.  The 
ultimate  success  of  evangelistic  meetings  depends 
in  large  measure  upon  the  close  co-operation  of 
this  form  of  service.  The  public  speaker  sows 
the  gospel  seed  broadcast;  the  personal  worker 
reaps  the  harvest  a  stalk  at  a  time. 

4)  Shop  meetings.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
recent  forms  of  Association  activity  along  dis- 
tinctively religious  lines.  It  practically  com- 
bines all  three  of  the  foregoing  methods  of  work, 
and  consists  in  the  holding  of  religious  meet- 
ings, often  for  Bible  study,  in  shops  and  factories 
during  the  noon  intermission,  supplemented  by 
personal  work.  The  only  printed  matter  dealing 
specifically  with  this  new  work  is  a  pamphlet  on 
Shop  Bible  Classes,  published  by  the  Cleveland 
Association,  and  since  it  is  out  of  print,  some 
extracts  follow. 

"The  new  movement  differs  from  the  sporadic 
attempts  to  evangelize  workingmen  through  lay 
sermonizing,  in  that  it  seeks  to  aid  the  men  in 
understanding  the  simple  and  fundamental  truths 
of  Scripture.  This  they  like  and  engage  in  with 
enthusiasm.  One  of  our  chief  obstacles  has  been 
the  memory  of  meetings  held  at  sundry  times  by 
well-meaning  persons  who  treated  the  men  as 
objects  of  effort,  rather  than  as  comrades  with 
good  minds  and  warm  hearts.  ,  .  .  No  contro- 
verted themes  are  discussed.     Men  of  all  creeds 


172     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

and  no  creeds  are  there.  The  simplest  methods 
of  teaching  the  great  fundamental  truths  of  the 
Bible  are  followed.  The  attendants  are  both 
Protestant  and  Catholic — one  class  is  as  greatly 
interested  as  the  other.  .  .  .  The  influence  of 
such  work  is  felt  in  every  shop  where  estab- 
lished. Profanity  and  impure  conversation  have 
decreased,  and  indirectly  a  friendly  feeling  fos- 
tered between  employer  and  employee.  Employ- 
ers often  cooperate  by  furnishing  books  and 
organs.  It  also  encourages  honest  and  faithful 
service  among  the  men,  by  cultivating  a  robust 
moral  sentiment. 

•'The  meeting  takes  the  form  of  a  Bible  study 
rather  than  an  evangelistic  address.  Experience 
seems  to  show  that  interest  can  be  maintained 
longer  with  this  means  than  any  other.  The  men 
never  seem  to  weary  of  handling  the  Testament, 
reading  the  lesson  and  making  themselves  believe 
they  are  studious  members  of  a  Bible  class,  learn- 
ing something  by  their  own  effort  every  week. 
Winter  and  summer  they  attend  with  increasing 
interest  and  numbers.  .  .  .  The  study  is  made  in 
an  expository  manner.  It  is  not  possible  to  de- 
velop the  lesson  by  means  of  questions  at  first,  yet 
it  can  be  put  in  that  form.  The  leader  may  have 
to  answer  most  of  his  own  questions  for  a  time 
but,  to  a  great  extent,  the  benefit  of  the  question 
method  will  be  secured,  as  the  men  will  attempt 
to  answer  in  their  own  minds  and  gradually  grow 
bold   enough   to   answer    audibly.  ...  A    large 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  1 73 

chart  of  manila  paper,  three  by  five  feet,  with 
the  outline  printed  in  letters  large  enough  to  be 
read  fifty  feet  away,  is  a  helpful  auxiliary.  If  left 
in  the  shop,  it  aids  the  men  in  discussing  the  topics 
through  the  week,  and  advertises  the  class  to  new 
men.** 

The  whole  service  must  be  bright,  interesting 
and  brief.  In  the  Cleveland  shops,  the  noon  inter- 
mission being  only  half  an  hour,  exactly  twelve 
minutes  are  taken  for  the  meeting.  "Care  must 
be  exercised  not  to  attempt  too  much.  A  few 
points  clearly  presented  and  well  illustrated  have 
proved  the  most  potent  in  reaching  the  men.** 
Music  proves  a  valuable  ally.  "At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  work  in  a  shop,  nothing  will  make 
it  so  popular  as  good  music.  Occasionally  the 
entire  time  can  be  given  to  a  musical  program.  In 
modern  shops,  where  there  are  conveniences  for 
eating,  music  can  be  given  while  the  men  are  at 
lunch.  This  both  aids  digestion  and  leaves  addi- 
tional time  for  the  Bible  study.  After  all,  the  best 
thing  is  to  get  the  men  to  sing  themselves.  Noth- 
ing is  so  good  for  them  as  a  heartily  sung 
hymn.** 

In  such  a  work,  with  meetings  but  once  a  week 
and  no  chance  to  speak  afterward  to  any  who  may 
manifest  special  interest,  the  results  in  the  way  of 
conversions,  of  which  there  have  been  several, 
will  come  slowly  and  must  be  gathered  by  per- 
sonal work.  But  even  if  no  conversions  occur, 
results  such  as  those  before  indicated  amply  repay 


174     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

all  the  effort.  In  Cleveland  there  are  now  fifteen 
classes  meeting  weekly,  with  a  total  attendance  of 
fifteen  hundred.  All  are  studying  "The  Story  of 
Jesus,"  a  course  designed  by  Mr.  Augustus  Nash, 
the  religious  work  director  of  the  Association. 
The  men  are  provided  with  New  Testaments 
(paid  for  by  themselves,  their  employers,  or  the 
Association)  and  cards  containing  the  topics  and 
references.  The  classes  are  conducted  by  volun- 
teer workers,  who  meet  weekly  for  consultation 
and  study. 

In  Dayton,  Ohio,  there  are  eight  shop  meet- 
ings held  weekly,  with  an  attendance  of  fourteen 
hundred.  These  are  of  a  more  general  and  dis- 
tinctively evangelistic  character.  Mr  G.  N. 
Bierce,  a  prominent  Association  worker  of  wide 
experience,  writes:  "A  popular  gospel  hymn  is 
sung  to  call  the  men  together.  The  leader  then 
reads  a  brief  portion  of  Scripture,  selecting  a 
passage  containing  practical  and  helpful  lessons 
to  men  in  their  everyday  life.  This  is  analyzed, 
bringing  out  a  few  points  clearly  and  sharply, 
which  are  sometimes  written  with  crayon  on  large 
brown  paper.  Another  hymn  is  sung,  a  prayer 
offered,  and  good-bye  said.  The  time  being  so 
limited,  everything  must  be  crisp,  sharp,  and 
pointed.  Several  of  the  men  have  been  converted 
and  added  to  the  churches.  Our  great  shops  and 
factories  afford  a  splendid  opportunity  for  car- 
rying the  gospel  direct  to  the  men  employed 
therein,  and,  in  my  judgment,  the  Association  is 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  1 75 

incomparably  superior  to  any  other  existing 
agency  for  performing  this  important  service. 
This  work  furnishes  another  demonstration  of 
its  ability  to  appreciate  and  provide  for  the  needs 
of  men."  One  unusual  feature  of  this  work  in 
Dayton,  and  occasionally  elsewhere,  is  its  appro- 
val by  Roman  Catholic  priests. 

At  Louisville,  Kentucky,  ten  such  meetings  are 
held  each  week,  seven  at  Warren,  Pennsylvania, 
and  one  or  more  in  upwards  of  about  one  hun- 
dred other  places.  Some  follow  the  Cleveland 
plan  of  consecutive  Bible  studies,  and  others  the 
Dayton  plan  of  a  more  general  service,  each  of 
which,  with  capable  leadership,  brings  results  that 
are  of  inestimable  value.  A  single  instance  of  the 
value  of  these  shop  meetings  is  worth  noting. 
In  one  city  the  owners  of  a  large  establishment, 
employing  men  of  eight  nationalities,  told  the 
secretary  that  they  were  sure  he  could  not  accom- 
plish anything,  since  even  they  were  afraid  of 
their  men,  but  he  might  try.  He  did  try;  a  large 
and  successful  class  was  established,  and  one 
result  was  such  a  gratifying  change  in  the  moral 
tone  and  temper  of  the  men  that  the  firm  now 
contributes,  unsought,  two  hundred  dollars  a  year 
to  the  Association  as  a  token  of  appreciation, 
whereas  nothing  was  given  formerly. 

This  is  clearly  one  of  the  most  promising  fields 
of  activity  now  before  the  Association,  and  will 
doubtless  be  largely  entered  into  in  the  near 
future.     The  extra  expense  is  trifling,  the  largest 


176     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

annual  cost  being  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
and  in  this  case — Dayton — the  men  themselves 
provide  for  all  of  it. 

5)  Office  Bible  classes.  Another  work  has  been 
started  the  past  summer  by  the  Cleveland  Associ- 
ation, similar  in  character  to  the  preceding  but 
for  business  and  professional  men  and  clerks. 
Three  Bible  classes  were  established  in  office 
buildings  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  rheeting  weekly 
for  thirty  minutes  during  the  noon  hour.  Two 
of  them  meet  in  a  bank  director's  room  and  the 
third  in  an  assembly  room.  Despite  the  unfavor- 
able time  of  year  the  enrolment  has  been  nearly 
sixty,  and  the  success  attending  the  inauguration 
of  the  work  has  been  such  that  it  is  to  be  rapidly 
enlarged. 

This  newest  form  of  extension  work  for  the 
Association  deserves  high  commendation,  both  in 
principle  and  method,  and  will  doubtless  be  taken 
up  soon  in  many  other  cities. 

6)  Foreign  missions.  Although  originated  for 
the  purpose  of  helping  young  men  in  local  com- 
munities, the  work  of  the  Associations  has  now 
spread  to  missionary  fields.  Inasmuch  as  there 
are  some  who  criticize  the  Associations  for  tak- 
ing up  work  which,  according  to  their  own  ideas, 
should  be  done  only  by  the  churches,  the  follow- 
ing statement  by  a  member  of  the  International 
Committee  is  worth  noting:  "We  have  never 
occupied  a  foreign  field  except  at  the  earnest 
request  of  the  missionaries   on  the   field,  and  in 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  1 77 

nearly  every  case  the  request  has  had  to  lie  in 
the  office  of  the  Committee  for  one  or  more  years 
before  we  were  able  to  answer  the  call  of  these 
earnest  men  of  God,  who  beseech  us  to  send  out 
our  secretaries  to  do  the  work  there  that  our  young 
men  are  doing  in  this  country."^ 

This  work  was  undertaken  in  1899,  and  there  are 
now  thirty  secretaries  on  the  foreign  field,  of 
whom  five  are  in  Japan,  one  in  Korea,  seven  in 
China,  thirteen  in  India,  one  in  Ceylon,  two  in 
South  America,  and  one  in  Mexico.  The  total 
number  of  Associations  is  3CX),  145  of  which  are 
student  organizations.  The  approximate  mem- 
bership is  14,000,  of  whom  3,600  are  professed 
Christians. 

For  the  arousing  and  sustaining  of  interest  in 
this  world-wide  movement  occasional  public 
meetings  are  held,  and  classes  established  for  the 
study  of  fields.  There  is  an  extensive  list  of  pub- 
lications, and  a  quarterly  periodical  called  the 
Foreign  Mail.  In  many  Associations  the  mission- 
ary interests  are  in  charge  of  a  Volunteer  Band, 
which  corresponds  to  that  in  the  student  depart- 
ment. Several  provide  the  entire  support  of  a 
foreign  secretary. 

2.  Educational.  The  close  union  of  the  spiritual 
and  intellectual  elements  of  human  nature  was 
recognized  from  the  beginning  of  Association 
work.  A  reading-room  and  library  were  among 
the  features  of  the  first  quarters  occupied  by  the 

*  Boston  Jubilee  Report^  p.  233, 


178     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

London  Association,  and  these  were  soon  sup- 
plemented by  popular  lecture  courses.  Classes 
for  instruction  in  ancient  and  modern  languages, 
mathematics,  book-keeping,  history,  and  essay 
writing,    were  in  operation  as  early  as  1850.* 

The  Associations  in  the  United  States  have 
developed  the  educational  work  to  a  high 
degree.  In  the  Boston  Association,  for  example, 
the  Evening  Institute,  as  this  department  is 
called,  offers  from  one  to  six  years  of  continuous 
study  in  over  one  hundred  lines  of  work.  Its 
courses,  text-books  and  methods  are  duplicates  of 
those  employed  in  the  best  day  schools.  The 
teaching  force  numbers  sixty  experienced  men, 
selected  for  professional  ability  and  high  moral 
character.  Instruction  is  offered  not  only  in  all 
the  common  branches,  but  in  such  lines  as  art, 
architecture,  music,  civil  service,  engineering, 
ancient  and  modern  languages,  literature,  higher 
mathematics,  naval  architecture,  navigation  and 
seamanship.  In  a  recent  year  nearly  seventeen 
hundred  young  men  availed  themselves  of  these 
classes.  A  day  school,  from  three  to  five  o'clock, 
has  also  been  established  for  the  benefit  of  men 
employed  at  night. 

Ordinarily,  however,  the  educational  work  of 
the  Association  is  quite  distinct  from  that  of  reg- 
ular schools.  "  It  does  not  presume  to  duplicate 
or  compete  with  the  public  or  private  schools, 
academies,  or  colleges,  which  restrict  their  efforts 

»  History  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  pTb^ 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  1 79 

largely  to  the  fundamental  education  of  those 
who  are  professionally  students,  and  whose  train- 
ing comes  largely  as  the  result  of  activities  within 
the  school  room.  On  the  other  hand,  it  does 
seek  to  stand  for  leadership  and  aid  in  the  supple- 
mentary education  of  the  great  majority,  who 
can  not  be  professionally  students,  but  whose 
training,  resulting  from  their  daily  life  activities, 
is  deficient  without  the  complement  that  will 
come  from  adapted  instruction  and  well-directed 
intellectual  endeavor."^ 

Many  Associations  also  have  an  extensive 
course  of  day  instruction.  In  Chicago  the  Asso- 
ciation College  of  the  central  department  is 
subdivided  into  five  regular  day  schools,  in  session 
the  entire  year;  namely:  English,  for  common 
branches;  Commercial,  for  bookkeeping,  banking, 
and  general  office  work;  Stenographic,  for  short- 
hand and  typewriting;  Technical  Preparatory, 
fitting  for  engineering  schools,  manufacturing,  or 
skilled  trade  work;  and  College  Preparatory. 
The  evening  schools,  from  September  to  June, 
are  College  Preparatory  and  Supplemental,  the 
latter  offering  sixty  courses.  There  is  also  a  boys' 
summer  school  for  those  who  wish  to  make  up 
back  work  or  prepare  for  promotion. 

A  significant  movement  is  being  inaugurated  in 
Chicago  for  the  extension  of  the  educational  work. 
In  large  establishments  remote  from  the  center  of 
the  city  the  employers  have  for  some  time  been 

» Association  Men,  September,  1901,  p.  445. 


l8o     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

asking  that  the  Association  conduct  evening 
classes  similar  to  those  at  its  headquarters. 
This  is  about  to  be  done,  and  will  thus  bring  the 
Association  into  touch  with  large  numbers  other- 
wise unreached,  many  of  whom  may,  by  the 
personal  influence  of  its  teachers,  be  led  to 
become  disciples  of  the  great  Teacher. 

The  educational  work  is  carried  on  by  all  the 
large  Associations  and  many  of  the  small  ones. 
Annual  examinations  are  held  under  the  direction 
of  the  International  Committee,  and  the  cer- 
tificates awarded  to  successful  students  are  recog- 
nized at  their  face  value,  in  lieu  of  examination, 
by  over  a  hundred  colleges  and  universities. 

3.  Physical,  "It  belongs  to  the  fundamental 
idea  of  Association  work  that  religion  saves  the 
whole  man,  and  whatever  helps  to  make  him  a 
better  man  in  body,  mind  or  spirit,  lifts  him  to  a 
higher  life."* 

Practical  recognition  is  given  to  the  physical 
side  of  this  idea  by  over  five  hundred  gymna- 
siums, with  a  hundred  thousand  attendants. 
Three  hundred  directors  and  assistants  are 
employed  in  this  work,  which  is  conducted  on 
approved  scientific  lines.  The  subordination  of 
the  physical  to  the  spiritual  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  Christian  character  is  a  requisite  quali- 
fication of  a  director.  They  are  expected  to  be 
leaders  in  Christian  service,  and  last  year  over 
one  hundred  of  them  taught  Bible  classes,  over 

» History  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  p.  69. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  l8l 

eleven  hundred  of  whose  members  joined  churches. 
A  large  measure  of  spiritual  good  also  results 
from  the  purely  physical  training,  with  its  attend- 
ant instruction  in  the  care  of  the  earthly  house  of 
the  spirit.  While  there  may  sometimes  be  a 
tendency  to  exalt  muscular  Christianity  unduly, 
the  result  on  the  whole  has  been  of  great  benefit 
to  distinctively  spiritual  life.  Health  of  spirit  no 
less  than  health  of  mind  is  promoted  by  health  of 
body.  The  old-time  pillar  saint,  whose  chief 
visible  claims  to  sanctity  were  bodily  deformity 
and  abstinence  from  ablutions,  is  no  longer  a 
spiritual  ideal  for  young  men,  thanks  in  no  small 
measure  to  such  work  as  the  physical  department 
of  the  Association  is  doing. 

4.  Social.  Although  it  has  been  common  to 
speak  of  Association  work  as  three-fold,  cor- 
responding to  the  preceding  lines  of  work,  yet 
the  social  element  in  human  nature  has  always 
been  recognized.  In  the  first  rooms  of  the 
London  Association  provision  was  made  for  this 
need.  Every  Association  renders  valuable  service 
to  young  men  by  providing  a  center  for  social 
life,  thus  enabling  them  to  spend  their  leisure 
hours  in  a  wholesome  and  Christian  environment. 
In  the  words  of  President  Roosevelt:  "The 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  would  have 
demonstrated  its  value  a  hundredfold  if  it  had 
done  nothing  more  than  furnish  reading-rooms, 
gymnasiums,  and  places  where,  especially  after 
nightfall,  those  without  homes  or  without  attrac- 


1 82     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

tive  homes  could  go  without  receiving  injury."  ^ 
All  Associations  have  social  committees,  and  in 
many  the  importance  of  the  work  is  recognized 
by  the  establishment  of  a  separate  department 
for  its  promotion,  with  a  director  in  charge. 

E.    SPECIAL   CLASSES 

I.  Students.  Religious  societies  existed  in 
American  colleges  over  a  century  ago,  but  they 
had  no  affiliation  with  each  other.  In  1858 
Associations  were  organized  in  the  Universities 
of  Michigan  and  Virginia,  and  many  others 
followed.  In  1877  the  International  Committee 
appointed  Mr.  L.  D.  Wishard  secretary  for  college 
work,  with  the  addition,  in  1888,  of  Mr.  John  R. 
Mott,  and  in  recent  years  of  others,  one  of  whom 
gives  his  entire  time  to  the  promotion  of  Bible 
study.  The  Associations  have  become  a  large 
power  for  good  in  student  life,  and  have  had  no 
small  part  in  its  transformation  from  the  notori- 
ously godless  condition  that  prevailed  even  in 
colleges  under  denominational  control  two  or 
three  generations  ago.  Many  of  them  have  finely 
equipped  buildings  which  serve  as  centers  for 
religious  and  social  life. 

One  enjoyable  and  profitable  feature  of  the 
student  work  is  the  holding  of  summer  confer- 
ences at  Northfield,  Massachusetts,  Lake  Geneva, 
Wisconsin,  and  other  places,  where  study,  con- 
ference, and  recreation  are  happily  blended.     By 

1  Century  Magazine,  October,  1900. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  183 

such  means  as  this  and  the  holding  of  conventions 
much  has  been  done  to  remove  the  bitter  hos- 
tility once  existing  between  educational  institu- 
tions. In  the  words  of  President  Wilson  of 
Princeton  University:  "This  movement  has  done 
more  to  bring  the  colleges  into  sympathy  and 
comradeship  than  any  other.  The  things  that 
bind  men  together  are  not  the  rational  processes 
of  the  mind,  but  the  movements  of  the  spirit,  and 
when  you  get  men's  spirits  bound  together,  you 
have  them  in  a  brotherhood  whose  bonds  can 
not   be  broken.'*^ 

Bismarck  said  that  one-third  of  the  graduates 
of  the  German  universities  ruled  the  empire,  and 
a  similar  state  of  affairs  is  coming  to  pass  in  our 
own  land.  The  work  of  the  Associations,  in  help- 
ing to  make  these  coming  rulers  men  of  earnest 
spiritual  life,  is  of  inestimable  value  for  the 
future  welfare  of  the  nation.  Within  the  history 
of  Association  work,  the  proportion  of  Christians 
in  American  colleges  has  changed  from  less  than 
one-third  to  more  than  one-half,  a  result  due  in 
no  small  degree  to  this  agency.  Over  thirty 
thousand  conversions  of  students  are  traceable  at 
least  in  part  to  its  work.  The  Intercollegian^  a 
monthly  magazine,  is  the  official  organ  of  the 
student  work. 

A  marked  feature  in  connection  with  the  relig- 
ious side  of  modern  student  life  is  the  Student 
Volunteer     Movement     for     Foreign     Missions. 

^Association  Mtn,  January,  1903,  p.  160. 


184     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

American  interest  in  world-wide  evangelization 
is  largely  traceable  to  the  famous  "haystack 
prayer-meeting"  at  Williams  College,  Massachu- 
setts, when  a  small  group  of  students  consecrated 
their  lives  to  this  work.  It  was  due  to  their 
zeal  that  the  first  foreign  missionary  society  in 
the  United  States,  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions,  was  founded  in 
1810.  In  many  colleges  and  seminaries  societies 
were  organized  for  the  promotion  of  interest  in 
foreign  missions,  and  in  1880  the  American 
Inter-Seminary  Missionary  Alliance  was  estab- 
lished, which  has  since  been  merged  into  the 
Student  Department  of  the  Association. 

The  Volunteer  Movement  originated  at  North- 
field,  Massachusetts,  in  the  summer  of  1886, 
when  two  hundred  and  fifty  students  from  many 
colleges  came  together  on  Mr.  Moody's  invita- 
tion to  attend  a  summer  conference.  One  result 
was  the  decision  of  a  hundred  young  men  to 
devote  their  lives  to  the  service  of  their  Master 
in  foreign  lands.  Two  were  appointed  to  visit 
student  centers  during  the  year,  and  later  the 
work  was  put  on  a  firm  basis  by  careful  organiza- 
tion. There  is  an  executive  committee,  supple- 
mented by  an  advisory  board  consisting  of  eight 
representatives  of  the  leading  denominational 
missionary  societies.  Nine  secretaries  give  their 
entire  time  to  the  work.  Two  attend  to  office 
business,  one  to  the  educational  work,  and  six 
visit  all  the   higher  institutions    of    learning    in 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   1 85 

the  country.  They  present  the  claims  of  the 
foreign  work,  establish  Volunteer  Bands  of  those 
who  are  willing  to  go  to  the  field,  organize  classes 
for  mission  study,  start  missionary  libraries,  con- 
fer with  committees  and  officers,  and  in  every 
possible  way  advance  the  interests  of  the  work. 
Quadrennial  conventions  are  held,  the  last  being 
at  Toronto,  in  1902,  with  an  attendance  of  nearly 
3,000  registered  delegates,  of  whom  247  were 
members  of  faculties,  107  foreign  missionaries, 
and  82  representatives  of  missionary  boards  of  all 
denominations. 

No  missionaries  are  sent  out,  but  all  volunteers 
are  referred  to  the  boards  of  their  respective 
denominations.  It  is  simply  a  recruiting  agency 
and  as  such  has  proved  a  great  power.  Over 
two  thousand  volunteers  have  gone  to  the  field, 
serving  in  connection  with  fifty  societies  in  all 
parts  of  the  non-Christian  world.  The  movement 
has  spread  to  the  churches  and  the  student  cam- 
paign is  now  an  established  feature  in  several  de- 
nominations, bands  of  students  spending  their 
vacations  and,  in  one  case,  an  entire  year,  in 
church  visitation.  Student  life  in  foreign  coun- 
tries has  also  been  reached,  and  a  World's  Stu- 
dent Christian  Federation  established,  with  work 
in  all  the  great  university  centers.  There  is 
probably  no  one  movement  that  is  rendering 
larger  or  more  valuable  service  to  the  cause  of 
foreign  missions  than  this  one  among  students 
of   our  own  and  all  lands  for  the  realization  of 


1 86     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

its  heroic  watchword:  "The  evangelization  of  the 
world  in  this  generation." 

2.  Railroad  men.  Another  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  the  "spirit  of  life  in  the  wheels"  of 
this  great  religious  machine  is  the  extension  of 
its  work  to  other  classes  of  young  men  than  those 
among  whom  it  began  operations. 

Through  the  reformation  of  a  railroad  employee 
in  Cleveland  a  work  was  begun  for  railroad  men 
in  the  union  depot  by  the  holding  of  a  preaching 
service  on  Sunday.  For  a  time  the  city  pastors 
conducted  these  services  but  soon,  and  partly  at 
their  suggestion,  the  Association  took  up  the 
work.  The  managers  of  the  roads  fitted  up  a 
reading-room,  and  the  first  railroad  Association 
was  soon  established,  in  1872.  Inside  of  a  few 
years  many  others  were  organized,  and  in  1877 
the  International  Committee  appointed  a  special 
secretary  for  the  work.  It  has  had  a  large  growth, 
until  there  are  nearly  two  hundred  Associations, 
many  with  fine  buildings,  providing  not  only  all 
the  accommodations  of  a  city  Association,  but 
often  boarding  facilities. 

The  special  need  for  such  work  among  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  young  men  connected 
with  railroads,  including  express  and  mail  service, 
lies  in  the  nature  of  their  work,  which  requires 
so  much  absence  from  home  and  often  necessi- 
tates many  hours  of  unemployed  time  at  division 
points.  Whereas  formerly  the  saloon  and  the 
brothel  were    about    the   only  places   of   public 


THE  YOUNG  MEN*S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   1 87 

resort  open  to  the  young  man  out  on  his  run, 
now  he  can  have  rest  and  recreation  and  refresh- 
ment amid  the  most  wholesome  surroundings. 
An  evidence  of  the  practical  appreciation  of  these 
opportunities  by  the  men  is  found  in  the  fact  that 
while  Roman  Catholics  are  not  eligible  to  active 
membership,  in  many  railroad  Associations  they 
outnumber  the  men  of  any  other  denomination, 
and  in  at  least  one  place  all  of  them  together. 

From  the  outset  of  this  movement  railroad 
officials  have  been  cordial  in  sympathy  and 
hearty  in  support.  In  many  cases  they  erect 
the  buildings  as  a  proper  item  of  expense  for 
the  equipment  of  the  road,  and  also  contribute 
to  the  cost  of  operation.  Prominent  officials  say 
of  this  work:  "The  Association  does  more  in  fit- 
ting men  to  fulfill  their  duties  for  the  safety  of 
the  public  than  all  the  patent  appliances  of  the 
age."  "If  we  surround  our  men  with  better 
influences  we  shall  have  better  men — physically, 
intellectually,  socially,  morally.  In  my  judg- 
ment, the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is 
better  adapted  to  change  the  environment  of  the 
railroad  man  than  any  other  existing  institution." 
"While  it  may  be  urged  by  some  that  it  is  no 
part  of  the  business  of  a  railroad  company  to 
make  Christians  of  the  men,  it  is  very  much  its 
business  to  make  sober,  moral  men  of  them. 
Any  money  successfully  expended  for  that  end  is 
well  expended  and  will  bring  manifold  returns  in 
better   service,  better  care  of   stock  and    track, 


1 88     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

real  economy  in  all  expenditures."  "I  believe 
that  the  work  carried  on  by  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  could  not  be  done  as  effec- 
tively by  any  other  organization.  We  have 
abundant  testimony  from  railway  officials  who 
have  tried  to  accomplish  the  same  results  with- 
out the  religious  element,  that  the  experiments 
have  been  failures.  The  religious  feature  of  the 
work  is  the  basis  of  its  permanency  and  suc- 
cess." 

3.  Traveling  men.  A  special  work  on  behalf  of 
commercial  travelers  was  inaugurated  in  1879, 
and  a  secretary  appointed  by  the  International 
Committee.  This  was  afterward  discontinued  as 
a  separate  department,  and  each  Association  left 
to  attend  to  the  needs  of  this  class,  with  the 
cooperation  of  the  Committee.  A  special  ticket 
entitles  the  holder  to  the  privileges  of  any  Asso- 
ciation. 

4.  Wage  earners.  For  many  years  it  has  been 
recognized  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  rail- 
road work,  the  Associations  were  doing  but  little 
for  the  great  body  of  wage-earners  commonly 
known  as  workingmen.  Mr.  H.  E.  Coleman, 
secretary  of  the  Weymouth,  Massachusetts,  Asso- 
ciation, has  made  a  special  study  of  the  industrial 
work  and  furnishes  the  following. 

"In  upwards  of  four  hundred  Associations  con- 
ducting educational  work,  48  per  cent  of  the 
thirty  thousand  students  belonged  to  the  indus- 
trial class.     Thirty-seven  representative  Associa- 


THE  YOUNG  MEN's  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   1 89 

tions  report  an  average  of  37  per  cent  of  their 
members  belonging  to  this  group.  Thirty-nine 
of  their  classes  were  in  distinctly  industrial 
courses,  with  mechanical  drawing  as  the  most 
popular.  Nineteen  Associations  report  nearly 
twenty-five  hundred  books  on  kindred  topics. 

"The  attitude  of  employers  toward  the  Associa- 
tions appears  in  the  fact  that  twenty-four  report 
over  $15,000  subscribed  annually  by  industrial 
corporations  for  current  expense,  and  four  report 
nearly  as  much  from  similar  sources  for  build- 
ings. There  are  a  number  of  Associations  wholly 
for  the  use  of  employees.  The  Johnson  Iron 
Company  at  Lorain,  Ohio,  gave  a  building  and 
furnishes  $2,000  a  year  for  the  support  of  the 
work,  while  the  Westinghouse  Company  at  Wil- 
merding,  Pennsylvania,  a  lumber  company  at 
Stamps,  Arkansas,  and  the  Vermont  Marble  Com- 
pany at  Proctor,  Vermont,  have  pursued  a  similar 
course,  the  building  at  Proctor  costing  $30,000. 
In  each  case  the  men  themselves  pay  moderate 
fees  (as  in  the  case  of  the  railroad  Associations), 
thus  preserving  a  spirit  of  manly  self-respect. 

"The  fact  that  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  is  rising  to  its  opportunity  for  extend- 
ing its  work  to  young  men  of  the  industrial  group 
is  further  shown  in  the  recent  appointment  of  Mr. 
C.  C.  Michener  as  Industrial  Secretary  of  the 
International  Committee.  He  will  give  his  whole 
time  to  the  development  of  Associations  in 
industrial  centers.     A  large  number  of  corpora- 


IQO     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

tions  have  already  asked  him  to  consider  their 
institutions  as  possible  places  for  the  establish- 
ment of  Associations." 

5.  Army  and  navy.  In  May,  ,1861,  the  New 
York  Association  undertook  religious  work  in 
the  camps  and  barracks  in  and  about  the  city. 
In  October  of  the  same  year  it  called  a  meeting  of 
all  Northern  Associations,  resulting  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  United  States  Christian  Com- 
mission. For  four  years  a  great  work  was  carried 
on  among  soldiers  through  the  agency  of  the 
Commission,  which  was  not  at  all  limited  to  the 
Associations,  distributing  relief  in  money  and 
supplies  to  the  value  of  over  five  million  dollars, 
and  employing  the  services  of  over  five  thousand 
men  and  women  in  hospital  and  evangelistic 
work.  During  the  war  both  Northern  and  South- 
ern Associations  gave  practically  all  their  atten- 
tion to  work  of  this  sort. 

The  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain  furnished 
another  great  opportunity.  Inside  of  two  months 
there  were  forty  regimental  and  brigade  tents 
in  charge  of  sixty  secretaries,  the  numbers  in- 
creasing later  to  ninety  and  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  respectively.  A  splendid  work  was 
done  along  the  various  lines  of  Association 
activity,  and  is  still  being  carried  on  at  army 
posts,  both  at  home  and  in  the  new  island  posses- 
sions. A  similar  work  for  the  navy  was  inaugu- 
rated and  a  fine  property,  costing  $450,CXX),  has 
been    recently  dedicated  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   IQI 

Yard.      The  work  has  the   hearty  approval   and 
cooperation  of  the  United  States  Government. 

6.  Colored  men.  While  the  Associations  do 
not  draw  the  color  line,  it  has  been  found 
advisable  to  have  separate  organizations  in  the 
South.  It  originated  in  a  request  of  the  colored 
ministers  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  for  an  exten- 
sion of  the  work  among  the  freedmen.  The 
work  was  organized  in  1879,  ^^^  riow  has  two  col- 
ored secretaries.  It  has  had  a  moderate  growth, 
partly  in  cities,  but  mostly  in  schools.  Where 
the  colored  Associations  are  weak,  an  advisory 
board  of  leading  white  citizens  is  sometimes  estab- 
lished. Speaking  of  this  work,  Mr.  Booker  T. 
Washington  said:  "One  of  the  best  things  you 
can  do  for  a  young  black  man  in  the  South  is  to 
help  the  Association  in  making  him  the  most  use- 
ful and  the  most  reliable  Christian  in  his  com- 
munity." * 

7.  North  American  Indians.  Work  among  this 
race  originated  in  1881  in  the  spontaneous  rise  of 
organizations  among  the  Sioux  closely  akin  to 
the  Associations.  In  1885  they  were  represented 
in  the  annual  conventions  of  Minnesota  and 
Dakota.  In  1894,  in  response  to  the  earnest  re- 
quest of  the  Indian  young  men  and  the  mission- 
aries working  among  them,  one  of  their  own 
number,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  College,  was 
appointed  as  a  special  secretary  to  develop  the 
work.      A  successor  was  appointed  in  1898,  also 

*  Jubilee  Report,  p.  141. 


192     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

one  of  their  own  number  and  thoroughly  edu- 
cated. There  are  several  Association  buildings, 
and  great  good  is  being  done. 

8.  Boys.  Association  workers  have  not  over- 
looked the  vital  fact  that  the  trend  of  a  young 
man's  life  is  already  determined  to  a  large 
degree  by  the  time  he  is  eligible  to  membership. 
As  early  as  1873  some  Associations  held  special 
meetings  for  boys,  and  work  for  them  along  prac- 
tically the  same  lines  as  for  young  men  now  has 
a  place  in  most  Associations.  There  are  some 
fifty  thousand  boys  in  the  various  junior  depart- 
ments, and  the  number  is  growing  rapidly. 

"The  work  of  the  past  year  has  been  character- 
ized by  the  attention  given  to  working  boys.  We 
have  begun  to  realize  that  this  work  has  a  direct 
relation  to  reaching  the  industrial  classes.  In- 
creased attention  has  also  been  given  to  the  needs 
of  high  school  boys,  especially  along  religious 
lines.  Much  careful,  prayerful  experimenting  is 
being  done  in  meetings  for  these  older  boys  and 
in  directing  them  in  Christian  service."  ^ 

F.    TRAINING  SCHOOLS 

It  is  not  any  enthusiastic  young  man  with  a 
pleasant  smile  and  a  stock  of  Bible  proof  texts 
that  can  be  a  successful  Association  secretary. 
A  thoroughly  trained  mind,  as  well  as  a  deep 
spiritual  life,  are  no  less  essential  to  the  highest 
success  here  than    in  the   ministry.      More    and 

» Association  Men,  January,  1903,  p.  158. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   1 93 

more  the  secretaryship  is  getting  to  be  a  distinct 
calling,  demanding  the  highest  qualifications  of 
body,  mind,  and  spirit. 

Recognition  of  this  fact  finds  expression  in 
two  training  schools,  each  with  able  instructors 
and  good  equipment,  at  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Chicago,  the  latter  holding  a  summer 
session  at  Lake  Geneva,  Wisconsin.  These  offer 
training  in  all  lines  of  Association  activity  and 
have  been  instrumental  not  only  in  supplying  a 
rapidly  growing  demand  but  in  bettering  the 
quality  of  the  supply.  With  the  consequent 
raising  of  the  secretarial  standards  will  come 
increasing  power  for  good  on  the  part  of  this 
modern  agency  for  promoting  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  young  men. 

Another  means  for  increasing  the  efficiency  of 
general  secretaries  is  a  biennial  conference.  An 
indication  of  their  value  is  furnished  by  Mr. 
Gates'  study  of  The  Religious  Condition  of  Young 
Men^  mentioned  in  the  first  chapter,  it  having 
been  prepared  for  one  of  the  conferences.  The 
reception  of  this  paper,  which  was  based  on  care- 
ful sociological  research  by  Mr.  Gates  and  his 
associates,  and  the  demand  for  it  in  book  form, 
are  hopeful  signs  for  the  future  of  Association 
work. 

G.  women's  auxiliaries 

While  the  work  of  the  Associations  is  all  for 
men  it  is  by  no  means  all  done  by  them,  and  no 


194     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

survey  of  their  manifold  activities  would  be  com- 
plete without  recognition  of  the  help  often  ren- 
dered by  large-hearted  women.  Over  five  hundred 
Associations  are  blessed  with  such  organizations, 
which  not  only  provide  financial  support  but  by 
wise  counsel  and  manifold  service  promote  their 
efficiency,  especially  in  social  lines.  The  Wo- 
men's Auxiliary  of  the  International  Committee 
has  given  special  attention  to  work  among  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  and  the  splendid  Navy  build- 
ing in  Brooklyn  is  one  result  of  their  consecrated 
efforts. 

H.    YOUNG   MEN    NOT  REACHED 

Human  limitations  are  such,  and  wisely,  that  no 
one  organization  can  do  everything.  With  all 
their  manifold  activities  and  magnificent  achieve- 
ments, there  is  much  that  the  Associations  have 
not  yet  been  able  to  do  or  even  attempt.  When 
it  is  remembered  that  the  movement  has  but 
recently  passed  the  semi-centennial  mark,  and 
that  its  present  condition  is  the  result  of  the 
work  of  men  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  it  is  seen 
to  be  but  in  its  infancy.  Without  the  slightest 
disparagement,  therefore,  attention  is  here  turned 
to  fields  yet  untouched. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Student  and  Indian 
Departments,  Associations  are  found  almost 
exclusively  in  the  larger  towns  and  cities,  yet 
even  here  the  vast  majority  of  young  men  are  un- 
reached.     For  example,  in  five  hundred    towns 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   I95 

and  cities  having  a  population  in  1900  of  over 
six  million  men  from  sixteen  to  forty-four  inclu- 
sive, less  than  3  per  cent  of  them  were  members 
of  Associations;  in  forty-eight  Illinois  towns  and 
cities,  less  than  2  per  cent;  in  Chicago,  a  little 
over  I  per  cent.^  The  total  male  population  of 
the  United  States  between  sixteen  and  forty- 
four,  the  ordinary  range  of  Association  ages,  is 
nineteen  million,  while  the  total  Association 
membership,  exclusive  of  boys,  is  about  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  thousand,  or  1.2  per  cent.  Even 
after  making  a  generous  allowance  for  the  large 
and  valuable  influence  exerted  indirectly,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Associations  have  made  little 
more  than  a  good  beginning. 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  fact 
that  the  industrial  classes  are  more  largely  un- 
reached than  any  other,  and  to  the  new  movement 
in  their  behalf.  The  classification  of  the  four 
thousand  members  of  the  central  department  in 
Chicago  shows  this  with  almost  startling  clear- 
ness: clerks,  50.2  per  cent;  managers,  15.4  per 
cent;  skilled  laborers,  10.3  per  cent;  professional 
men,  8.7  per  cent;  students,  5.8  per  cent;  un- 
skilled laborers,  1.8  per  cent;  unclassified,  7.6 
per  cent.^  While  the  preponderance  of  clerks 
and  managers  is  in  this  case  due  in  some  measure 
to  the  location  of  the  department  in  the  heart 
of  the  business  district,  these  figures  would 
fairly  hold  for  city  Associations  in  general. 

»  Religious  Condition  of  Young  Men,  p.  32.         '  Same,  p.  36, 


196     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Very  few  smaller  towns  have  as  yet  been 
touched.  It  has  been  found  by  dear  experience 
that  unless  the  Association  can  have  the  per- 
manent basis  and  acknowledged  standing 
afforded  by  a  building  of  its  own,  it  is  apt  to 
have  a  short  existence.  Every  such  failure  makes 
a  later  and  larger  work  far  more  difficult.  For 
this  same  reason  the  young  men  of  the  great 
agricultural  class  are  as  yet  unreached.  A  new 
and  growing  movement  for  county  work  has 
recently  been  inaugurated  that  promises  much  for 
the  help  of  young  men  in  small  towns  and  rural 
districts.  "Fourteen  counties  are  now  organized 
with  county  secretaries  in  six  states.  Four  states 
have  assistant  secretaries  for  the  development 
of  the  work,  and  four  others  are  about  to  under- 
take it.  "^  A  special  secretary  for  county  work 
will  probably  be  appointed  by  the  International 
Committee  in  the  near  future. 

A  smaller  but  by  no  means  unimportant  class  of 
men  as  yet  unreached  by  the  Associations  is  made 
up  of  sailors  in  our  merchant  marine,  both  on 
salt  and  fresh  water.  Their  needs,  however, 
have  not  been  forgotten,  and  provision  will  be 
made  for  them  as  soon  as  possible. 

On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  the  Associa- 
tions are  fully  alive  to  the  needs  of  the  millions 
of  young  men  yet  beyond  their  influence,  and 
that  their  work  will  be  extended  as  rapidly  as  may 
be  made  possible  by  the  growing  means  at  their 

»  Association  Men,  January,  1903,  p.  164. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION    1 97 

command,  and  at  the  same  time  consistent  with 
safe  and  solid  growth. 

The  words  of  the  venerable  founder  in  his 
New  Year's  message  for  1903  well  express  the 
principles  and  aims  of  the  movement: 

"The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is 
essentially  a  'Forward  Movement.'  Every  year 
has  been  marked  by  growth.  But  'Go'  must  still 
be  our  watchword.  We  have  as  yet  but  touched 
the  fringe  of  our  possibilities.  The  world  is  our 
territory.  'Go  ye,'  says  our  Master,  'into  all  the 
world.'  Life  becomes  increasingly  strenuous. 
Problems  press  for  solution.  The  air  is  full  of 
questionings  and  inquiries.  As  Associations,  we 
must  keep  in  touch  with  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
not  to  yield  in  any  measure  to  its  seductive  influ- 
ences but  to  permeate  it  with  the  elevating  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity,  to  lift  its  standards,  to 
ennoble  its  aims,  to  raise  its  ideals,  and  to  win 
young  men  to  Jesus  Christ.  This  has  been  the 
object  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
since  its  formation,  and  it  is  upon  these  lines 
that  we  go  forward.  We  will  go  in  the  strength 
of  the  Lord  God. "  ^—George  Williams,  Knight. 

I.    THE    RELATION     OF    THE    ASSOCIATIONS    TO    THE 
CHURCHES 

All  who  have  had  any  experience  in  Association 
work  recognize  this  as  a  practical  problem  of 
much  importance,  and  it  deserves  consideration 

^Association  Men,  January,  1903,  p.  166. 


198     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

even  in  so  necessarily  brief  a  discussion  as  the 
limits  of  this  study  compel.  Among  the  ques- 
tions sent  to  pastors  were  these:  (i)  What  do  you 
think  of  the  spiritual  results  of  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  work?  (2)  How  could  its 
spiritual  efficiency  be  increased?  (3)  Is  it  a  rival 
or  helper  of  the  local  church,  and  wherein?  (4) 
How  could  the  two  be  better  coordinated  in  work 
for  young  men? 

i)  To  the  first,  fifteen  replied,  excellent;  thirty- 
seven,  good;  nine,  fair;  five,  not  commensurate 
with  other  work  and  the  labor  involved;  twenty, 
small;  five,  unsatisfactory;  fifteen,  practically  no 
results. 

2)  To  the  second  the  replies  were  much  more 
scattered.  Twenty-five  suggested  a  greater  em- 
phasis on  the  distinctly  spiritual  work;  twelve, 
closer  cooperation  between  the  Associations  and 
the  churches;  ten,  more  broad-minded  and  deeply 
spiritual  secretaries  and  officers;  two,  increased 
emphasis  on  intellectual  as  distinguished  from 
merely  emotional  religion;  two,  a  broader  policy, 
not  too  strictly  evangelical.  Among  those  from 
only  one  were:  more  reality  in  its  theology; 
wider  scope  of  Christian  teaching;  more  common 
sense  in  religious  instruction;  more  emphasis 
on  practical  Christian  work  and  personal  relation 
to  the  church;  more  of  service  for  others  and  less 
of  others  for  it;  omit  religious  services  and  send 
members  to  church;  magnify  the  functions  of  the 
local  church;  less  "glad  hand"   and   more  manly 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  1 99 

interest;  while  one  pastor,  who  teaches  a  large 
and  highly  organized  young  men's  Bible  class, 
such  as  those  referred  to  in.  a  preceding  chapter, 
says:  "I  don't  know  that  its  spiritual  efficiency 
can  be  increased.  The  Association  is  an  excres- 
cence on  the  body  ecclesiastic,  due  to  the  failure 
of  the  church  to  do  its  duty." 

3)  Answers  to  the  third  question  showed  that 
sixty-nine  regarded  the  Association  as  a  helper 
of  the  local  church,  twenty-seven  as  a  rival,  and 
eight  as  neither  one. 

4)  For  the  closer  coordination  of  the  Associa- 
tions and  the  churches  in  their  work  for  young 
men  nine  suggested  more  intimate  relations 
between  pastors  and  secretaries;  seven,  that  the 
churches  recognize  the  Associations  as  their  insti- 
tutional departments  for  young  men;  seven,  that 
each  church  have  its  young  men  organized  into  a 
branch  of  the  Association;  ten,  that  mutual  sym- 
pathy and  interest  be  promoted  by  all  possible 
means;  three,  that  the  Association  hold  evening 
services  in  the  churches;  five,  that  there  be  some 
organic  connection,  as  by  pastoral  supervision, 
joint  committees,  and  the  election  of  directors 
by  the  churches;  while  three  wish  no  attempt  at 
coordination,  but  prefer  that  the  churches  should 
look  after  all  the  spiritual  interests  of  young  men, 
leaving  to  the  Associations  the  physical  mental 
and  social  interests. 

In  this  connection  the  words  of  Dr.  Washing- 
ton Gladden  are  worth  noting:    "The  work  of  the 


200     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association  must  be  done 
by  the  young  men  who  are  members  of  the 
churches,  and  the  pastor  will  regard  this  as  one 
of  the  fields  in  which  his  force  is  employed  and 
will  gladly  surrender  such  of  his  young  men  as 
may  be  needed  to  this  important  work.  It  is  one 
of  the  cases  in  which  the  church,  for  Christ's 
sake,  loses  its  life  that  it  may  keep  it  unto  life 
eternal."* 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  these  opinions  are 
almost  all  from  men  who  are  pastors  of  large 
churches  representing  all  denominations,  and  who 
have  been  more  than  ordinarily  successful  in  deal- 
ing with  young  men.  Fairness,  as  well  as  a  desire 
to  make  this  study  one  of  real  value,  required 
that  the  secretaries  also  be  asked  to  reply  to  sim- 
ilar inquiries,  and  the  following  were  made:  (i) 
Many  pastors  regard  the  Association  as  a  rival; 
to  what  extent  is  this  true,  and  if  at  all,  how  may 
it  be  obviated?  (2)  Wherein  could  your  Associa- 
tion be  of  larger  and  more  direct  help  to  the 
churches?  (3)  Wherein  could  the  churches  be  of 
larger  and  more  direct  help  to  your  Association? 
(4)  How  could  the  two  be  more  'closely  coordi- 
nated in  work  for  young  men?  (5)  Would  Asso- 
ciation work  be  justifiable  if  confined  to  physical, 
educational  and  social  lines,  leaving" all  distinct- 
ively religious  work  to  the  churches?  (6)  Would 
such  a  strict  division  of  labor  be  for  the  best  inter- 
ests of  young  men,  provided  the  churches  would 

*  The  Christian  Pastor^  p.  315. 


THE  YOUNG  MEN*S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  20I 


do  all  the  religious  work  now  done  by  the  Asso- 
ciation? 

i)  Some  replies  to  the  first  expressed  surprise 
that  any  pastor  should  consider  the  Association 
a  rival,  and  suggested  that  all  such  needed  educa- 
tion. Others  were:  "The  Association  is  only  a 
rival  of  the  churches  in  the  sense  that  they  are 
rivals  of  each  other.  .  .  .  Statistics  show  that 
the  churches  which  give  the  Association  the  great- 
est support  reap  the  greatest  benefit.  .  .  .  The 
Association  is  an  auxiliary  of  the  churches;  they 
have  no  more  loyal  helper.  .  .  .  Some  pastors 
are  jealous,  others  too  busy  (?),  others  not  inter- 
ested; they  don't  understand  the  Association. 
.  .  .  The  Association  is  an  interdenominational 
extension  of  the  church;  it  is  the  church  itself 
doing  work  for  a  special  class.  ...  The  Asso- 
ciation is  not  an  outside  agency,  but  rather  a 
special  cooperative  movement  of  the  churches 
to  do  work  made  necessary  by  modern  condi- 
tions. .  .  .  The  Association  is  not  a  result  of 
any  failure  of  the  church  to  do  its  duty  nor  a' 
reproach  to  its  barrenness,  but  a  result  of  its 
God-given  fertility  of  resource  and  adaptability 
to  changing  circumstances.** 

Several  of  these  replies  are  by  secretaries  of 
long  experience  and  national  reputation,  and 
are  worthy  of  careful  consideration.  The  last 
three,  in  particular,  clearly  define  the  relation  of 
the  Association  to  the  churches,  and  make  it 
plain  that  when    properly  conducted  it  is  in  no 


202     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

way  a  rival,  but  rather  a  great  aid.  That  in  some 
cases  secretaries  are  over-zealous  and  short- 
sighted, as  one  who  is  reported  to  visit  a  con- 
verts' meeting  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  the 
affections  of  any  promising  young  man  and 
diverting  his  interest  to  the  Association,  is  just  as 
true  as  that  an  occasional  pastor  has  such  an 
exaggerated  sense  of  the  importance  of  his  own 
organization  and  such  a  narrow  vision  of  the 
extent  of  Christ's  kingdom  as  to  regard  the  Asso- 
ciation with  petty  jealousy. 

2)  On  the  increased  helpfulness  of  the  Associa- 
tion to  the  churches  the  most  important  answers 
were:  "By  greater  care  in  introducing  men  to 
church  membership  and  training  men  for  church 
service.  ...  By  a  stronger  religious  work  lead- 
ing to  church  membership.  .  .  .  By  securing  their 
cooperation  in  practical  service.  ...  By  com- 
pelling each  active  member  to  do  a  certain 
amount  of  church  work.  By  a  fuller  realization 
of  the  Association's  dependence  on  the  churches 
and  more  effort  to  get  young  men  into  their  serv- 
ices. .  .  .  By  a  church  committee  in  each  Asso- 
ciation to  secure  the  attendance  of  men  upon 
church  services."  One  secretary  frankly  avows 
his  belief  that  "it  is  not  the  special  mission  of  the 
Association  to  help  the  church,  as  is  often  said, 
but  to  advance  the  kingdom  of  Christ."  This  is 
unquestionably  true,  for  this  is  the  supreme  busi- 
ness not  only  of  the  Associations  and  the 
churches  and  every  organization    of    Christians, 


THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  203 

but  also  of  every  follower  of  Christ.  Yet,  since 
the  usefulness  of  all  such  organizations  is  in- 
creased by  mutual  helpfulness,  the  question  of 
how  this  may  be  better  secured  is  worth  serious 
consideration. 

3)  On  the  increased  helpfuness  of  churches  to 
the  Association  the  secretaries  wrote:  "By 
heartier  personal  and  financial  cooperation.  .  .  . 
By  following  up  young  men  referred  to  them. 
(Several  reported  a  failure  of  pastors  at  this 
point,  for  example:  "Two  years  ago  I  gave  to 
seventeen  pastors  the  names  of  eighty-five  young 
men  who  had  come  to  this  city,  many  of  whom 
were  members  of  churches  in  other  places,  sug- 
gesting that  they  be  called  upon  and  interested 
in  the  church.  The  pastors  represented  denomi- 
nations preferred  by  the  young  men.  I  asked  for 
a  reply  and  heard  from  only  four  or  five.  This 
suggests  one  of  the  difficulties  the  Association 
has  to  face.*')  ...  By  official  recognition  of  the 
Association  as  an  arm  of  the  church.  .  .  .  By 
regarding  the  Association  as.  its  institutional 
department  for  young  men.  .  .  .  By  trusting  it 
and  praying  for  it." 

4)  In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  closer  coordi- 
nation of  these  two  agencies  for  promoting  Christ's 
kingdom  among  young  men  was  suggested  in 
the  following  particulars:  "Federate  all  the  men's 
clubs  and  Bible  classes  with  the  Association  in  a 
campaign  for  the  men  of  the  whole  community. 
.  .  .    By  each  taking  the  other  into  account  in 


204     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

planning  various  lines  of  work  and  cooperating 
in  definite  efforts  more  frequently.  .  .  .  By  each 
church  appointing  a  committee  of  workers  to 
represent  it  in  the  Association."  The  most 
comprehensive  reply  is  from  a  secretary  of  inter- 
national prominence,  and  is  worth  quoting  entire. 
"The  individual  church  is  simply  a  group  of 
believers  united  for  effective  work  as  witnesses 
for  Christ.  Their  chief  function  is  not  their  own 
culture  but  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom  among 
those  who  are  not  believers.  The  Association  is 
simply  a  cooperative  movement  of  a  number  of 
such  groups  trying  to  do  a  special  work,  with 
special  machinery  and  special  leadership.  The 
results  should  go  back  to  the  groups  which 
formed  the  corporation.  It  is  simply  their 
agency  and  exists  for  their  help  in  doing  their 
legitimate  work.  The  two  may  be  better  coordi- 
nated by  these  means:  (i)  By  better  and  more 
thorough  organization  of  the  Association's  mem- 
bers, who  come  from  the  churches,  that  there  may 
be  more  effective  'living  links'  between  the 
churches  and  their  down-town  agency.  (2)  By 
greater  efforts  on  the  part  of  pastors  to  use  the 
Association  according  to  its  purpose  and  charac- 
ter. (3)  By  regarding  the  Association  more  and 
more  as  a  training  school,  a  means  of  preparing 
young  men  for  more  effective  work,  both  in  and 
out  of  the  local  church.  (4)  By  a  larger  meas- 
ure of  mutual  love,  confidence  and  sympathy. 
By  regarding  all  branches  of  the  church's  activ- 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   205 

ities,  both  denominational,  interdenominational, 
and  undenominational,  as  simply  parts  of  the 
Master's  great  plan  for  bringing  in  the  King- 
dom. Rivalry  is  as  foreign  to  this  ideal  as  is 
unrighteousness.  It  usually  comes  from  the 
same  source,  and  ought  to  be  regretted,  con- 
fessed, and  forsaken." 

5)  To  the  fifth,  most  replies  were  emphatically 
negative:  "No;  take  out  the  religious  activities, 
which  we  seek  to  make  pervade  all  departments, 
and  as  well  run  a  club.  .  .  .  Such  a  policy  would 
kill  the  movement  within  a  decade.  .  .  .  When 
railroad  officials  and  business  men  testify  that 
the  religious  element  of  the  Association  vitalizes 
it  and  thus  differentiates  it  from  an  ordinary  club, 
it  is  well  to  hold  to  the  present  policy."  A 
few,  however,  recognize  the  not  distinctively 
religious  (this  is  far  from  saying  irreligious)  work 
as  of  so  high  a  value  as  to  give  an  affirmative 
answer,  for  example:  "Yes;  the  Association 
would  still  be  the  institutional  department  of 
the  churches,  and  could  do  this  work  for  all,  and 
also  afford  a  common  meeting  place  for  their 
members."  None,  however,  favor  such  a  limita- 
tion. 

6)  A  practically  unanimous  reply  in  the  negative 
was  given  to  the  sixth  question:  "Many  young 
men  can  be  reached  religiously  by  the  Associa- 
tion before  they  are  willing  to  assume  church 
obligations.  .  .  .  The  Association  furnishes  the 
best  opportunity  for  training  young  men  in  Chris- 


206     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

tian  work,  and  for  their  direct  influence  upon 
those  who  are  not  Christians.  .  .  .  The  Associa- 
tion can  do  a  religious  work  as  a  union  body  that 
the  individual  church  can  not  do;  it  is  the  best 
expression  of  practical  church  union  ever  devel- 
oped." 

From  these  replies,  both  by  pastors  and  secre- 
taries, it  is  evident  that  there  is  much  need  of 
closer  coordination  between  the  Associations  and 
the  churches.  While  Association  work  is  clearly 
a  branch  of  church  work,  there  is  probably  no 
need  of  any  organic  union;  in  fact,  direct  control 
by  the  churches  in  any  one  city  would  probably 
impair  its  efficiency  on  the  whole.  The  govern- 
ment of  each  Association  is  already  and  irrevo- 
cably in  the  hands  of  a  few  church  members, 
but  there  is  need  of  a  better  understanding  of 
its  work  and  a  more  generous  sympathy  and 
cooperation  on  the  part  of  all.  It  is  not  strange 
that  these  important  elements  have  been  lack- 
ing, often  to  a  serious  extent.  The  churches  rep- 
resent an  institution  nearly  nineteen  centuries 
old,  whereas  the  Association  has  but  recently 
passed  its  half-century  mark.  The  former  are 
naturally  conservative,  the  latter  nothing  if  not 
progressive.  Moreover  both  are  human.  Perfect 
Associations  and  secretaries  have  not  yet  been 
found,  any  more  than  perfect  churches  and  pas- 
tors. There  is  large  room  for  improvement  on 
both  sides,  both  in  breadth  of  vision  concerning 
their  mission  for  the  advancement  of  the  world- 


THE  YOUNG  MEN  S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION   207 

wide  kingdom  of  Christ,  rather  than  merely  that 
of  a  single  organization,  and  in  depth  of  spiritual 
life  as  the  first  essential  factor  in  the  promotion 
of  this  lofty  end.  With  these  improvements, 
which  are  slowly  but  surely  coming  to  pass,  will 
come  the  closer  union  in  action,  as  well  as  in 
spirit  and  purpose,  of  these  mighty  agencies  for 
the  spiritual  betterment  of  young  men,  and  the 
greatly  increased  efficiency  of  each. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  SALVATION  ARMY 

Although  not  organized  as  a  church,  either 
local  or  denominational,  nor  to  any  extent  affili- 
ated with  any  church  or  churches,  the  Salvation 
Army,  no  less  than  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  is  distinctively  a  form  of  church 
work,  in  that  it  exists  primarily  for  promoting 
the  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  While  but 
little  of  its  varied  activity  is  particularly  for 
young  men,  such  large  numbers  of  them  are 
reached  and  helped  by  its  general  work  as  to 
make  a  survey  of  it  interesting  to  all  who  are  con- 
cerned for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  future  rulers 
of  the  nation. 

A.    RISE  AND   PROGRESS 

The  Salvation  Army  owes  its  beginning  and 
growth,  under  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation, 
to  one  of  the  marked  personalities  of  current  his- 
tory. There  is  probably  no  living  man  in  Chris- 
tian circles  whose  name  is  more  familiar,  the 
world  around,  than  that  of  the  Army's  founder 
and  earthly  head.  General  Booth. 

Born  in  Nottingham,  England,  April  lo,  1829, 
William  Booth  was  converted  at  the  age  of  fif- 
teen through  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  a 
208 


THE    SALVATION    ARMY  209 

Wesleyan  chapel,  although  he  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  Church  of  England.  His  ardent 
nature  led  him  to  engage  almost  at  once  in  open- 
air  meetings  in  the  poorer  districts,  and  as  a  boy 
preacher  he  attracted  much  attention.  His  native 
capacity  for  leadership  quickly  gathered  a  group 
of  fellow  young  men  who  held  cottage  prayer- 
meetings  on  week  nights,  and  marched  singing 
through  the  streets.  Appointed  a  local  preacher 
at  seventeen,  he  visited  near-by  villages  on  Sun- 
days, being  actively  engaged  in  business  during 
the  week.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  gave 
up  a  promising  mercantile  life  and  became  an 
evangelist,  and  the  next  thirteen  years  witnessed 
many  revival  campaigns  of  a  stirring  and  suc- 
cessful character. 

His  earlier  experiences  had  led  him  into  close 
sympathy  with  the  poorer  classes  of  the  working 
people,  and  he  observed  with  sadness  that  few  of 
them  would  come  within  church  walls  to  hear 
the  gospel.  The  conviction  grew  that  it  was  his 
special  mission  to  carry  the  good  news  of  salva- 
tion to  these  "godless,  churchless,  hopeless,  and 
often  homeless  masses."  He  did  not  want  to 
start  a  new  ecclesiastical  organization  for  the 
purpose,  and  it  was  only  after  trying  in  vain  to 
secure  the  adoption  of  the  new  work  for  the  un- 
churched millions  by  some  one  of  the  existing 
denominations  that  he  finally  established  the 
Christian  Mission,  becoming  its  superintendent. 

For  the  beginning  of  the  new  effort  to  carry 


2IO     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

the  gospel  to  those  who  would  not  come  to  it, 
he  chose  the  most  unpromising  field  in  all  Eng- 
land. "An  old  tent  in  a  disused  Quaker  burial 
ground  was  the  birthplace  of  the  Mission.  It 
was  amid  the  worse  than  heathen  pandemonium  of 
blasphemy  and  ribaldry,  for  which  the  East  End 
of  London  is  so  notorious,  that  the  movement 
was  cradled.  .  .  .  Among  the  vagabonds  and  out- 
casts who  swarm  this  district  he  found  the  very 
lowest  level  of  the  social  strata.  Yet  here  he 
discovered  'all  manner  of  precious  stones'  with 
which  the  foundations  of  the  Salvation  Army 
New  Jerusalem  were  to  be  garnished;  in  the 
ocean  depths  of  sin  he  found  material  for  the 
'pearly  gates.'  "  * 

But  the  denizens  of  London's  social  dumping 
ground  did  not  receive  the  new  work  with  open 
arms.  When,  after  two  months  the  tent  was 
blown  down  and  the  meetings  were  transferred 
to  an  old  warehouse,  stones  and  mud  and  fire- 
works were  thrown  through  the  open  windows  in 
summer,  and  trains  of  gunpowder  set  off  in  the 
room.  "But  our  people  got  used  to  this,  shout- 
ing 'Hallelujah*  when  the  crackers  exploded  and 
the  powder  flashed.  Doubtless  many  were  fright- 
ened away,  but  it  was  an  admirable  training 
ground  for  the  development  of  the  Salvation 
Army  spirit." '  So  with  trying  experiences  but 
always  with  growing  success,  the  heroic  workers 
of    the  Christian    Mission   kept   on   for   thirteen 

*  William  Booth,  p.  21.       «  Same,  p.  23. 


THE    SALVATION   ARMY  211 

years.  Although  many  calls  came  from  outside 
places,  whither  converts  had  carried  their  fiery 
zeal,  they  were  responded  to  but  sparingly,  the 
main  efforts  being  centered  upon  putting  the 
East  London  work  on  a  firm  basis,  and  the  rais- 
ing up  and  training  of  a  thoroughly  qualified  band 
of  workers. 

One  day  in  1878,  while  the  always  busy  leader 
was  dictating  an  annual  report  to  his  secretary, 
the  latter  wrote:  "The  Christian  Mission  is  a 
volunteer  army."  As  if  by  inspiration,  he  leaned 
over  the  secretary's  shoulder  and  wrote  the  word 
'salvation*  instead  of  'volunteer'  and  the  new  name 
was  forthwith  adopted.  With  the  change  of  name 
came  a  change  of  organization.  For  all  these 
years  the  Christian  Mission  had  been  virtually  an 
army,  conducting  a  vigorous  campaign  against 
sin,  and  the  change  of  organization  to  a  military 
basis  was  natural  and  easy.  The  General  Sup- 
erintendent of  the  Mission  readily  became 
(though  not  of  his  own  suggestion)  the  General 
of  the  Army,  and  other  officials  easily  became 
subordinate  officers  of  corresponding  rank. 
Groups  of  believers  in  various  stations  became 
corps  and  a  flag  was  adopted,  its  blue  border 
typifying  holiness,  its  red  field  the  blood  of 
Christ,  and  its  yellow  star  the  fiery  baptism  of 
the  Holy  Ghost — hence  the  familiar  motto, 
"Blood  and  Fire."  It  remained  only  to  adopt  a 
uniform  as  a  perpetual  reminder  to  the  soldier 
of  his  allegiance  and  as  a  constant  witness  to  the 


212     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

world,  and  the  new  Army  was  ready  to  carry  to 
greater  victories  the  warfare  so  long  waged  by 
the  Mission. 

Its  greater  prominence  brought  greater  opposi- 
tion, not  only  from  those  whom  it  sought  to  help 
but  even  from  those  who  ought  to  have  welcomed 
it  as  a  valiant  and  valuable  ally.  The  press 
wrote  it  up  only  to  cry  it  down,  and  one  religious 
dignitary  discovered  in  it  the  Beast  of  Revela- 
tion. Others  prophesied  the  speedy  disintegra- 
tion of  this  "rope  of  sand,"  and  still  others 
discovered  its  already  begun  decay.  But  its 
dauntless  leaders  gave  no  heed.  Whether  attacked 
by  East  London  mobs  or  lampooned  by  West 
London  aristocrats,  the  Army  moved  straight  on. 
The  General's  talented  wife,  affectionately  called 
the  mother  of  the  Salvation  Army,  and  since 
passed  from  the  church  militant  to  the  church 
triumphant,  wrote  to  a  friend:  "We  goon  through 
floods  and  storms  and  flames.  God  is  with  us, 
and  out  of  this  movement  He  is  going  to  resusci- 
tate the  acts  of  the  apostles.  We  see  the  pillar 
of  cloud,  and  after  it  we  must  go.  It  may  be  that 
the  rich  and  genteel  will  draw  off  from  us.  They 
did  so  when  the  Master  went  to  the  vulgar  crowd 
and  when  He  neared  the  vulgar  cross.  But  we 
can  not  help  it.  We  are  determined  to  cleave  to 
the  cross,  yea,  the  cross  between  two  thieves,  if 
that  will  save  the  people."  * 

The  result  of  that   faith   and  determination   to 

1  William  Booth,  p.  36. 


THE   SALVATION   ARMY  213 

keep  up  the  fight  in  the  face  of  all  obstacles  is 
manifest  to-day  in  the  world-wide  spread  of  the 
movement.  Not  only  in  England  and  America 
but  throughout  Europe  and  also  in  many  places  in 
Africa,  Asia,  and  the  Islands  of  the  Sea,  and 
especially  in  Australia,  this  vigorous  agency  for 
uplifting  fallen  humanity  is  doing  a  great  work. 
"They  are  to  be  found  to-day  in  forty  seven 
countries  and  colonies.  There  are  15,000  workers 
who  give  their  whole  time  to  the  work,  and  40,000 
unpaid  local  officers  who  support  themselves  and 
give  their  spare  time.  Six  thousand  centers  have 
been  established,  where  84,000  meetings  are  held 
weekly  (half  in  the  open  air)  and  in  which  a 
quarter  of  a  million  persons  publicly  profess 
salvation  in  a  year.  To  the  poor  the  gospel  is 
being  preached.  The  churchless  are  being 
reached."^  It  is  the  boast  of  Britain  that  the 
roll  of  England's  morning  drum  beat  is  heard 
around  the  world.  So  also  is  the  roll  of  the 
Salvation  Army's  evening  drum  beat,  summoning 
its  brave  soldiers  not  to  a  death-dealing  but  to  a 
life-bringing  warfare  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  of 
Hosts. 

B.    WORK   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES 

In  1871  a  zealous  worker  of  the  Christian  Mis- 
sion, who  had  gone  to  Canada,  crossed  over  to 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  "Here  his  spirit  was  deeply 
stirred  by  scenes  resembling  those  in  East  Lon- 

1  Light  in  Darkness, 


214     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

don.  But  there  was  no  similar  agency  for  grap- 
ling  with  the  evil,  nor  was  there  much  hope  that 
Mr.  Booth  could  be  induced  to  send  one  of  his 
evangelists  to  so  distant  a  place  when  his  hands 
were  already  full.  So  with  the  blessed  audacity 
which  has  characterized  the  Salvation  Army  from 
its  beginning,  he  resolved,  single-handed,  to 
'hoist  the  Mission  flag*  on  American  soil."  ^ 

With  a  few  kindred  spirits  a  branch  of  the 
Mission  was  established  and  correspondence  be- 
gun with  the  founder  in  London.  One  of  the 
letters  from  the  superintendent  contains  these 
characteristic  sentences:  "Remember,  quality  is 
of  far  more  importance  than  quantity.  What  your 
first  little  band  is,  succeeding  societies  will  be. 
Therefore  aim  at  thoroughness  and  whole-heart- 
edness  in  the  company  you  associate  with  your- 
self. .  .  .  Beware  of  men  who  will  want  to 
come  in  because  they  can  be  great  among  you 
and  indulge  the  love  of  talking  that  exists  in  so 
many.  One  humble  though  illiterate  worker,  full 
of  simplicity  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  worth  a 
regiment  of  such.  ...  Go  in  with  all  your 
might  for  souls  and  for  God."  * 

Two  years  later  the  leader  returned  to  London 
and  the  work  was  given  up,  but  not  without  large 
good  having  been  accomplished  in  saving  souls 
and  reclaiming  backsliders. 

In  1879  a  family  who  had  been  soldiers  in  the 
corps  in  Coventry,    England,   came  to  Philadel- 

1  William  Booth,  p.  48.       a  Same,  p.  51. 


THE   SALVATION   ARMY  215 

phia,  and  soon  established  the  Army  in  the 
Quaker  city.  A  band  of  eight  workers,  seven 
being  the  now  well-known  "Hallelujah  Lassies," 
was  sent  over  by  the  General  the  following  year, 
and  the  campaign  of  the  Army  in  the  United 
States  thus  inaugurated.  On  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic  too,  though  not  to  so  great  an  extent 
as  on  the  other,  the  work  of  the  Army  was  begun 
and  for  a  long  time  carried  on  in  the  face  of  great 
obstacles.  Yet  here,  as  there,  patient  endurance 
of  persecution,  due  primarily  to  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  its  motives  and  the  strangeness  to  Ameri- 
cans of  its  methods,  coupled  with  steady  continu- 
ance in  well-doing  and  an  unswerving  faith  in  its 
great  Captain,  have  brought  the  Army  to  its 
present  well-earned  position  of  being  undoubtedly 
the  most  zealous  and  aggressive  of  all  the  forces 
that  are  at  work  for  helping  this  to  become  in 
truth  what  it  is  in  name,  a  Christian  nation, 
"whose  God  is  Jehovah." 

Although  transplanted  from  England,  the  Army 
in  this  country  is  thoroughly  an  American  insti- 
tution. The  few  foreign-born  officers  have  be- 
come naturalized,  and  almost  the  entire  rank  and 
file  are  Americans  by  birth,  excepting  of  course 
the  few  corps  of  foreign-speaking  persons.  It 
is  incorporated  under  a  special  charter  granted 
by  the  state  of  New  York.  All  funds  raised  are 
used  strictly  for  work  in  this  country,  with  excep- 
tion of  the  proceeds  of  "Self-denial  week,"  which 
are  used  in  its  foreign  mission  work.     The  work 


2l6     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

in  the  United  States  is  under  the  supervision  of 
Commander  Frederick  Booth-Tucker  and  his  wife, 
she  being  a  daughter  of  the  General.  The  head- 
quarters are  at  122  West  14th  Street,  New  York 
City. 

An  unfortunate  division  in  its  ranks  a  few  years 
ago,  resulting  in  the  withdrawal  of  a  small  per- 
centage of  its  workers  under  the  leadership  of 
General  Ballington  Booth  of  New  York  City  to 
found  "The  American  Volunteers,"  who  are 
working  on  practically  the  same  lines  and  in 
entire  harmony  with  the  Army,  has  but  little  if 
any  retarded  its  progress.  Some  idea  of  its  great 
work  appears  from  the  following  figures  for  1902:* 

Officers,  cadets  and  employees, 3,048 

Corps,  outposts,  slum  posts,  and  social  institutions,  911 

Accommodations  in  social  institutions,  ....  9,000 
Annual  expense  for  American  poor,  exclusive  of 

farm  colonies $480,000 

Annual  provision  of  beds  for  the  poor,      ....  3,000,000 
Industrial  homes,  wood  yards,  and  stores  for  un- 
employed,  .     .* ....  53 

Accommodation   (finding  daily  work  for   unem- 
ployed),    650 

Annual  income  from  their  work, $150,000 

Outside  employment  found  for  about 25,000 

Farm  colonies, 3 

Acreage  of  same, 3,800 

Colonists  (men,  women  and  children), 400 

Rescue  homes  for  fallen  girls, 21 

Accommodations  in  same 500 

Girls  passing  through  yearly 1,800 

»  Light  in  Darkness. 


THE    SALVATION   ARMY  217 

Babies  cared  for  in  rescue  homes  daily,  about.  .    .  i6o 

Passing  though  annually,  about 500 

Accommodations  for  children  in  orphanages      .     .  150 

Accommodations  for  children  in  day  nurseries;.     .  100 

Chilren  settled  in  colonies  with  their  parents,  about  250 

Children  cared  for  in  various  ways  annually,  about  1,500 
Persons  provided  with  Christmas  dinners,  clothing 

and  toys 250,000 

The  manifold  nature  of  the  work  carried  on  is 
also  evident  from  the  following  official  statement: 
"The  Salvation  Army  now  operates  in  Chicago 
twelve  English-speaking  corps,  six  Swedish  corps, 
one  Norwegian  corps,  one  German  corps,  three 
slum  posts,  two  training  schools,  six  working- 
men's  hotels,  one  working  women's  hotel,  one 
home  for  fallen  girls,  one  maternity  hospital,  one 
slum  nursery,  one  salvage  warehouse,  five  salvage 
stores,  one  bureau  for  tracing  missing  relatives  and 
friends."  The  salvage  warehouse  and  stores  are 
for  the  sorting,  storage  and  sale  of  second-hand 
goods.  The  former  affords  an  easy  and  valuable 
work  test  for  applicants  for  relief,  especially  men. 
No  one  who  is  willing  and  able  to  work  need 
starve  or  be  without  shelter  and  bed. 

Probably  most  persons  know  the  Salvation 
Army  simply  as  a  band  of  faithful  soldiers  who 
parade  with  flying  flags  and  zealous  musicians 
who  "play  with  a  loud  noise"  if  not  always 
"skilfully,"  and  hold  meetings  on  the  street 
corners,  characterized  by  earnest  singing,  hearty 
testimonies,  and  fervid  appeals.  These  meetings 
and  those  held  in  the  "barracks"  do  indeed  con- 


2l8     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

stitute  the  chief  feature  of  its  work.  It  was 
begun  as  a  mission  for  preaching  the  gospel  to 
the  churchless  masses,  and  to  this  original  pur- 
pose it  has  faithfully  adhered,  and  in  its  prosecu- 
tion has  been  wonderfully  blessed.  But  it  has  also 
realized,  far  more  than  most  of  its  dignified 
churchly  sisters,  that  salvation  means  more  than 
merely  rescuing  a  soul  from  a  future  hell  and  get- 
ting it  safely  landed  in  a  far  away  heaven;  that  it 
means  the  saving  of  the  whole  man  in  his  present 
life.  Working  almost  exclusively  among  the 
poor  and  outcast,  it  has  realized,  far  in  advance 
of  many  social  reformers,  that  this  present  saving 
of  the  whole  man  also  involves  the  betterment  of 
his  external  conditions,  both  individual  and  social. 

The  extent  to  which  the  realization  of  both  of 
these  too  long  neglected  truths  has  shaped  the 
work  of  the  Army  is  evident  from  the  preceding 
summaries.  These  bare  enumerations  can  give 
but  a  faint  idea  of  the  results  which  are  being 
daily  brought  to  pass  in  all  of  the  larger  and  in 
many  of  the  smaller  cities  of  our  country.  Men 
and  women,  young  men  and  young  women,  boys 
and  girls,  and  helpless  infants  are  daily  being 
blessed  by  its  manifold  ministries  of  loving  service 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  following  editorial  in  the  Chicago  Record- 
Herald  of  November  19,  1902,  is  well  deserved: 
"The  demonstration  in  honor  of  General  Booth, 
veteran  founder  of  the  Salvation  Army,  at  the 
Auditorium  on  Monday  evening,  was  an  impres- 


THE    SALVATION   ARMY  219 

sive  tribute  to  a  religion  that  is  based  upon  the 
obligation  of  men  to  help  each  other.  It  was  a 
magnificent  popular  tribute  to  a  religion  that 
comes  about  as  near  to  exemplifying  the  practical 
teaching  of  Jesus  as  it  is  possible  for  fallible, 
finite  minds  to  get  in  this  world. 

"We  do  not  know  what  Jesus  would  do  about 
the  drums,  the  cymbals,  the  songs  set  to  populal 
airs,  and  the  other  devices  employed  by  the  Sal- 
vationists to  attract  the  attention  of  the  heedless 
and  indifferent.  But  it  is  safe  to  say  that  if  He 
were  on  earth  He  would  preach  to  the  populace 
in  the  highways  and  byways,  and  He  would  kneel 
in  the  streets  to  pray  for  sinners  with  the  Sal' 
vation  Army  lads  and  lassies.  He  would  go  with 
them  to  the  slums  of  the  cities  where  the  hungry 
and  destitute  are  fed  and  sheltered  by  the  Army. 
His  heart  would  be  in  their  rescue  work  and  He 
would  lend  a  helping  hand  in  the  work  of  reclaim- 
ing the  fallen  and  lifting  up  the  degraded  and 
dejected  derelicts  that  make  up  the  flotsam  and 
jetsam  of  human  misery  and  woe.  It  is  not  likely 
that  He  would  neglect  the  rich,  but  the  story  of 
His  earthly  career  justifies  the  conclusion  that  the 
work  of  the  Salvation  Army  would  commend 
itself  to  His  deepest  sympathy  and  support.** 

The  leaves  on  tnis  new  branch  are  somewhat 
different  from  those  on  the  older  ones;  yet  there 
are  no  two  leaves  alike  in  the  vegetable  king- 
dom, why  should  they  be  expected  in  the  spirit- 
ual?    But  its  abundant   fruit-bearing,  shown  by 


220     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

the  redeemed  lives  of  millions  of  human  beings, 
testifies  that  it  is  truly  abiding  in  the  Vine,  per- 
meated by  His  life  and  indwelt  by  His  Spirit. 
Thus  it  answers  the  Master's  own  test,  "By  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them/*  and  amply  demon- 
strates its  right  to  be  considered  among  the 
church  agencies  for  the  spiritual  betterment  of 
young  men. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

In  the  statistics  given  in  the  first  chapter 
Roman  Catholic  churches  were  included  with- 
out distinction  from  others,  commonly  called 
Protestant.  To  omit  from  this  study  of  agencies 
for  the  spiritual  betterment  of  young  men  one 
whose  membership  is  approximately  a  third  of 
that  of  all  the  churches  in  the  United  States, 
would  not  only  be  manifestly  unfair  to  that  great 
body  but  would  also  make  the  survey  very 
deficient. 

A.    GENERAL   SITUATION 

Outside  of  the  direct  means,  such  as  preaching, 
public  worship,  pastoral  work,  and  instruction  of 
the  young,  the  Roman  Catholic  churches  are 
doing  not  only  absolutely  but  relatively  far  less 
than  their  Protestant  neighbors.  The  general 
position  is  probably  well  expressed  in  a  letter 
from  a  priest  who  is  also  a  college  president: 
"With  us  the  great  agencies  for  the  spiritual 
betterment  of  young  men  are  those  established 
by  God  Himself,  namely,  the  holy  sacraments." 
Yet  there  is  a  growing  recognition  of  the  value  of 
such  secondary  agencies  as  are  employed,  for 
example,  in  the  institutional  churches.  The 
situation  is  thus  put  by  a  careful  student  of  social 
conditions. 

221 


222     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

"The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  seemed  to 
rely  almost  wholly  upon  the  spiritual  appeal.  Yet 
she  is  not  indifferent  to  modern  conditions  and  is 
preparing  to  meet  them.  Her  organizations  are 
taking  on  more  and  more  a  social  character. 
The  Total  Abstinence  societies  have  often  a  con- 
siderable social  element  in  connection  with  their 
work;  some  own  their  buildings,  which  are  pro- 
vided with  reading  rooms,  gymnasiums,  and 
billiard  halls.  Such  societies  may  be  found  at 
present  in  almost  all  of  the  large  cities  of  the 
country.  The  lyceum  is  growing  to  be  a  very 
popular  organization  connected  with  Catholic 
parishes  in  working  men's  districts.  In  the  city 
of  Baltimore  lyceums  were  found  in  connection 
with  no  less  than  eight  of  the  Catholic  parishes  of 
the  city.  The  method  is  usually  to  occupy  some 
building  which  is  fitted  up  with  means  for  social 
and  athletic  enjoyment.  The  three  requirements 
for  membership  in  a  lyceum  are  that  a  man  be  a 
good  Catholic,  be  of  good  moral  character,  and 
have  some  desire  to  improve  himself.  As  a  rule 
these  lyceums  are  remarkably  successful,  and 
their  membership  aggregates  many  thousands  in 
any  city.  Another  social  organization  has  just 
been  planned  by  the  Catholics,  the  Young  Men's 
Institute,  patterned  after  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association.  In  these  ways  the  attitude  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church  is  plainly  visible."* 

» Substitutes  for  the  Saloon,  p.  127. 


THE    ROMAN   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  223 

B.    THE   SODALITY 

This  is  the  most  distinctively  spiritual  of  the 
organizations  of  and  for  young  men.  There 
are  sodalities  for  different  classes,  as  for  married 
men,  married  women,  young  men,  young  women, 
boys,  and  girls.  Members  attend  communion 
service  in  a  body  once  a  month,  and  their  spirit- 
ual welfare  is  under  the  special  care  of  a  priest. 
Each  sodality  is  an  independent  organization 
and  shapes  its  own  course.  One  in  Chicago,  for 
example,  in  addition  to  its  distinctively  spiritual 
work,  has  a  gymnasium,  holds  social  and  musical 
entertainments,  and  occasionally  indulges  in 
amateur  theatrical  performances.  In  this  parish 
there  is  a  large  building  for  the  use  of  the  sev- 
eral sodalities,  corresp)onding  in  some  respects 
to  the  parish  house  of  an  institutional  church. 

C.    THE  YOUNG  MEN*S   INSTITUTE 

As  already  noted,  this  is  a  comparatively  new 
organization,  resembling  in  some  respects  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  "Its  objects 
are  mutual  aid  and  benevolence,  the  moral, 
social,  and  intellectual  improvement  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  the  proper  development  of  sentiments 
of  devotion  to  the  Catholic  Church  and  loyalty 
to  our  country,  in  accordance  with  its  motto: 
Pro  Deo,  Pro  Patriae  "No  one  shall  be  ad- 
mitted to  membership  unless  he  is  a  practical 
Catholic,  of  good  moral  character  and  standing  in 
the  community  where  he  lives,  and  over  the  age 


224     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

of  eighteen  years."  The  expression  "practical 
Catholic"  is  thus  defined:  "It  is  a  term  used  to 
designate  a  communicant  who  believes  all  the 
tenets  of  the  church  and  complies  with  what  are 
commonly  known  as  its  six  precepts,  namely:  (i) 
To  attend  mass  on  Sunday  and  holy  days  of  obli- 
gation. (2)  To  abstain  from  meat  on  Fridays  and 
all  fast  days  prescribed  by  the  church.  (3)  To 
receive  holy  communion  during  the  Easter  time. 
(4)  To  go  to  confession  once  a  year  and  during  the 
Easter  time.  (5)  To  contribute  to  the  support  of 
the  pastor.  (6)  Not  to  be  married  within  the 
forbidden  times,  that  is  during  Lent  and  Advent, 
or  within  forbidden  degrees  of  kindred." 

There  are  at  present  upwards  of  two  hundred 
councils,  as  the  local  organizations  are  called, 
with  twelve  thousand  members.  The  national 
body  is  known  as  the  Supreme  Council,  and 
Mr.  F.  J.  Kierce  of  San  Francisco  is  the  president. 

D.    TEMPERANCE   SOCIETIES 

1.  The  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Union  of  America, 
This  is  the  largest  of  several  similar  organiza- 
tions, having  about  1,200  societies  and  100,000 
members.  The  general  secretary  is  Mr.  J.  W. 
Logue  of  Philadelphia. 

2.  The  Knights  of  Father  Mathew.  This  organi- 
zation is  a  branch  of  the  preceding  and  has  been 
in  existence  since  1881.  Its  purpose  is  thus 
stated:  "The  objects  of  the  order  shall  be:  first, 
to  unite  fraternally,  practical  male  Catholics;  to 


(    UNIVERSITY    i 


THE    ROMAN   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  225 

give  all  possible  moral  and  material  aid  to  its 
members  and  those  dependent  on  them;  by  hold- 
ing moral,  instructive  and  scientific  lectures;  by 
assisting  its  members  to  obtain  employment;  by 
encouraging  them  in  the  pursuit  of  their  profes- 
sion, trade  or  occupation;  and  to  provide  means, 
from  the  proceeds  of  assessments  upon  its  mem- 
bers, wherewith  to  assist  its  sick  and  disabled 
members,  and  for  the  relief  and  aid  of  the  fami- 
lies, widows  and  orphans,  or  other  beneficiaries 
of  its  deceased  members.  Second,  to  encourage 
all  persons,  by  advice  and  example,  to  abstain 
from  all  intoxicating  drinks  and  to  cement  the 
bonds  of  charity  and  union  that  should  exist 
among  all  Catholics." 

It  was  begun  in  Missouri  and  now  operates  in 
adjoining  states,  with  a  membership  of  about  5,000. 
The  age  limit  is  fifty  and  the  extent  to  which  the 
order  appeals  to  young  men  is  seen  by  the  fact 
that  the  average  age  of  members  is  twenty-five. 
That  which  most  largely  differentiates  it  from 
the  Total  Abstinence  Union  is  its  insurance 
feature,  death  benefits  ranging  from  ;S>ioo  to 
$2,000.  Inasmuch  as  the  violation  of  the  pledge 
works  the  forfeiture  of  the  violator's  member- 
ship, with  the  attendant  loss  of  his  insurance 
interest,  and  he  can  be  reinstated  only  upon  a 
new  medical  examination  and  the  payment  of  a 
fine,  violations  are  rare.  These  strict  rules 
explain  the  comparatively  small  membership,  as 
"many  do  not  wish  to  risk  so  much  on  keeping 


226     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

the  pledge. "  Their  efficiency  appears  from  this 
statement  by  an  official:  "I  was  president  for 
nine  years  of  a  total  abstinence  society  that  had 
no  insurance  feature,  and  its  loss  of  membership 
through  violations  of  the  pledge  amounted  to 
75  per  cent.  With  the  branch  of  the  Knights  of 
Father  Mathew  that  I  am  interested  in  the 
loss  is  only  about  5  per  cent." 

The  local  organizations  are  called  councils,  each 
of  which  provides  such  social,  educational  or  other 
additional  features  as  it  sees  fit.  A  summe! 
encampment  for  boys  is  conducted  by  the 
Chicago  councils,  they  being  eligible  to  mem- 
bership at  the  age  of  twelve.  The  oversight  of 
the  spiritual  affairs  of  the  order  is  entrusted  to 
the  Supreme  Spiritual  Director,  who  is  always  a 
clergyman.  The  members  of  each  local  council 
are  required  to  attend  communion  in  a  body  once 
a  year.  The  chief  official  is  Mr.  W.  H.  O'Brien 
of  St.  Louis. 

E.    FRATERNAL    ORGANIZATIONS 

Membership  in  secret  societies  being  forbid- 
den by  the  rules  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
a  number  of  fraternal  bodies  have  been  organ- 
ized within  its  ranks,  of  which  the  following  will 
serve  as  representatives: 

I.  The  Knights  of  Colutnbtcs.  This  society  has 
been  in  existence  over  twenty  years  and  has  a 
membership  of  nearly  100,000.  Its  purposes  are 
the   promotion   of  social   and    intellectual  inter- 


THE    ROMAN   CATHOLIC   CHURCH  227 

course  and  the  providing  of  life  and  disability 
insurance.  No  person  is  eligible  to  membership 
who  is  connected  with  the  manufacture  or  sale 
of  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage.  There 
are  over  seven  hundred  local  councils,  under  the 
direction  of  a  national  council,  with  headquarters 
at  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  Mr.  Daniel  Col- 
well  is  the  secretary. 

2.  The  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters.  The  object  of 
this  organization  is  thus  stated:  "To  promote 
friendship,  unity  and  true  Christian  charity  among 
its  members:  friendship,  in  assisting  each  other 
by  every  honorable  means;  unity,  in  associating 
together  for  mutual  support  of  one  another  when 
sick  or  in  distress,  and  in  making  suitable  pro- 
vision for  widows,  orphans  and  dependents  of 
deceased  members;  true  Christian  charity,  in 
doing  unto  each  other  as  we  would  have  others 
do  unto  us."  While  its  primary  business  is  that 
of  providing  insurance  for  its  110,000  members, 
spiritual  interests  are  also  fostered  by  a  provision 
requiring  all  members  to  maintain  their  standing 
as  practical  Catholics.  Although  it  is  a  lay  organ- 
ization and  not  under  direct  ecclesiastical  control, 
"its  rules  and  regulations  conform  strictly  to  the 
rules  and  discipline  of  the  Catholic  Church." 
The  average  age  of  members  is  thirty-four.  The 
chief  executive  officer  is  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Cannon 
of  Chicago. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

This  list  of  books  is  given  to  help  those  who 
may  wish  to  read  further  upon  any  of  the  lines 
sketched  in  the  foregoing  pages.  Nearly  all  have 
been  read  at  least  in  part  by  the  writer  and  are 
believed  to  be  trustworthy.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  to  make  the  list  exhaustive — it  is  a 
selection  rather  than  a  collection.  The  books 
cited  in  each  chapter  are  listed  under  correspond- 
ing sections,  with  additions.  In  the  last  section 
are  several  of  general  interest,  all  of  which  are 
commended  for  reading  by  young  men  to  promote 
their  own  spiritual  welfare.  All  may  be  ordered 
through  local  booksellers  or  will  be  sent  by  pub- 
lishers postpaid,  except  those  marked  net. 


J.    F.   Gates.      The  Religious  Condition   of  Young  Men. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Chicago,  $i.oo. 
S.  L.  Gulick.     The  Growth  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.     F.  H. 

Revell  Co.,  Chicago,  $1.50. 
J.  W.  Clokey.     Dying  at  the  Top.     United  Presbjrterian 

Board  of  Publication,  Pittsburg,  $0. 10. 
Josiah  Strong.     Our  Country.     The  Baker  and  Taylor  Co., 

New  York,  ^.60. 
Benjamin  Kidd.     Social  Evolution.     MacMillan  Co.,  New 

York,  $1.00. 

228 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  229 


II 

G.  A.  Coe.  The  Spiritual  Life.  Eaton  &  Mains,  New- 
York,  $i.oo. 

G.  A.  Coe.  The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind.  F.  H.  Revell 
Co.,  Chicago,  net,  I1.35. 

E.  D.  Starbuck.  The  Psychology  of  Religion.  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  $1.50. 

Henry  Drummond.  Natural  Law  in  the  Spiritual  World. 
James  Pott  &  Co.,  New  York,  $1.00. 

L.  B.  Sperry.  Confidential  Talks  with  Young  Men.  F. 
H.  Revell  Co.,  Chicago,  I0.75. 

Sylvanus  Stall.  What  a  Young  Man  Ought  to  Know.  Vir 
Publishing  Co.,  Philadelphia,  net,  li.oo. 

Sylvanus  Stall.  What  a  Boy  Ought  to  Know.  Vir  Publish- 
ing Co.,  Philadelphia,  net,  |i.oo. 

Ill 
Washington  Gladden.    The  Young  Men  and  the  Churches. 

The  Congregational  Publishing  Society,  Boston,  |o.  10. 
Josiah  Strong.     The  Times  and  Young  Men.     The  Baker  & 

Taylor  Co.,  New  York,  $0.75. 
G.   A.    Miller.     Problems  of   the  Town  Church.      F.   H. 

Revell  Co.,  Chicago,  net,  I0.75. 
E.   W.    Bok.     The  Young  Man  and    the  Church.     Henry 

Altemus,  Philadelphia,  I0.25. 
Cortland  Myers.     Why  Men  Do  Not  Go  to  Church.     Funk 

&  Wagnalls  Co. ,  New  York,  net,  $0. 60. 
Charles  Stelzle.     The  Working  Man  and  Social  Problems. 

F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  Chicago,  net,  I0.75. 
R.  A.  Torrey.     How  to  Work  for  Christ.     F.  H.  Revell  Co., 

Chicago,  $2.50. 
R.  A.  Torrey.     How  to  Bring  Men  to  Christ     F.  H.  Revell 

Co.,  Chicago,  $0.75. 
H.  C.  Trumbull.     Individual  Work  for  Individuals.     Inter- 
national Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  New  York,  $0.75. 
Washington  Gladden  and  others.     Parish  Problems.    The 

Century  Co.,  New  York,  $2.00. 


230     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Washington  Gladden.  The  Christian  Pastor  and  the  Work- 
ing Church.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York, 
$2.50. 

Christianity  Practically  Applied,  being  the  Report  of  the 
International  Christian  Conference,  held  in  connection 
with  the  World's  Congress,  Chicago,  1893.  The  Baker 
&  Taylor  Co.,  New  York,  2  Vols.,  each,  $2.00. 


IV 

H.  C.  Trumbull.  Yale  Lectures  on  the^  Sunday-school. 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  $2.00. 

H.  C.  Trumbull.  Teaching  and  Teachers.  Charles  Scrib- 
ner's Sons,  New  York,  $1.25. 

History  of  Class  Number  Eight.  H.  C.  Houston,  Urbana, 
Ohio.     $0. 75. 

D.  C.  Cook.     The  Gospel  for  Boys.     D.  C.  Cook  Publish- 

ing Co. ,  Chicago,  $0. 10. 

E.  D.  Burton  and  Shailer  Mathews.     Principles  and  Ideals 

for  the  Sunday-school.  The  University  of  Chicago 
Press,  Chicago,  net,  $1.00. 

A.  P.  Foster.  Manual  of  Sunday-school  Methods.  The 
Union  Press,  Philadelphia,  $0.75. 

W.  E.  Hatcher.  The  Pastor  and  the  Sunday-school.  S.  S. 
Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Convention,  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  I0.75. 

M.  C.  Brown.  Sunday-school  Movements  in  America. 
F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  Chicago,  $1.25. 

G.  W.  Mead.  Modern  Methods  in  Sunday-school  Work. 
Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  New  York,  net,  I1.50. 

Proceedings  of  the  First  Convention  of  the  Religious  Educa- 
tion Association,  Chicago,  1903.  The  Religious  Educa- 
tion Association,  153  La  Salle  St.,  Chicago,  $1.00. 

A.  F.  Schauffler.  Ways  of  Working.  W.  A.  Wilde  Co., 
Boston,  $1.00. 

J.  H.  Vincent.  The  Modem  Sunday-school.  Eaton  & 
Mains,  New  York,  $0.90. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  23 1 


Amos  R.  Wells.     Sunday-school  Success.      F.  H.  Revell 

Co.,  Chicago,  $1.25. 
W.   B.  Forbush.     The  Boy  Problem.     The  Pilgrim  Press, 

Boston,  I0.75. 
J.  M.  Gregory.     The  Seven  Laws  of  Teaching.     Pilgrim 

Press,  Boston,  net,  |o,5o. 
Alvah  Hovey  and  J.  M.  Gregory.     The  Bible,  and  How  to 

Teach  It.     The  Griffith  &  Rowland  Press,  Philadelphia, 

net,  I0.25. 
W.  H.  Hall.     Guide  Boards  for  Teachers.     J.  D.  Wattles, 

Philadelphia,  $0.75. 


F.  E.  Clark.    Training  the  Church  of  the  Future.     Funk  & 
Wagnalls,  New  York,  net,  $0.75. 

F.  E.  Clark.     Young  People's  Prayer-Meetings.      Funk  & 

Wagnalls,  New  York,  $0.75. 
Washington  Gladden.     The  Christian  Pastor.     See  III. 
Proceedings  R.  E.  A.  Convention,  1903.     See  IV. 

VI 

Christianity  Practically  Applied.     See  III. 

G.  W.  Mead.     Modem  Methods  in  Church  Work.     Dodd, 

Mead  &  Co.,  New  York,  $1.50. 
John  Clark  Hill.     The  Fishin'  Jimmy  Club.     Presb3rterian 
Board  of  Publication,  Chicago,  $0.25. 

VII 

Edward  Judson.     The  Institutional  Church.    Lentilhon  & 

Co.,  New  York,  net,  $0.60. 
G.  W.  Mead.     Modem  Methods.     See  VI. 
Josiah  Strong.     The  New  Era.     Baker  &  Taylor  Co.,  New 

York,  I0.75. 
Josiah  Strong.     The  Next  Great  Awakening.      Baker  & 

Taylor  Co.,  New  York,  $0.75. 
Josiah  Strong.    Religious  Movements  for  Social  Betterment. 

Baker  &  Taylor  Co.,  New  York,  $0.50. 


232     THE  CHURCH  AND  YOUNG  MEN 

Josiah  Strong.     The  Twentieth  Century  City.     Baker  & 

Taylor  Co.,  New  York,  $0.50. 
Rajmiond  Calkins.     Social    Substitutes    for    the    Saloon. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  net,  I1.30. 

VIII 
L.  L.  Doggett.     History  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.     International 

Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  New  York,  $1.00. 
Jubilee  of  Work  for  Young  Men,  being  the  Report  of  the 
Convention  held  in  Boston,  1901,  commemorating  the 
semi-centennial  of  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  in  North  America. 
International  Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  New  York,  3i-75. 
Religious  Condition  of  Young  Men.     See  I. 
The  Christian  Pastor.     See  III. 

H.  S.  Ninde.      The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of 
North  America.     American  Institute  of  Social  Service, 
New  York,  $0. 50. 
World  Wide   Evangelism,   being  the  Report  of    the  last 
Student  Volunteer  Convention,  Toronto,   1902.    Inter- 
national Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  New  York,  net,  $1.50. 
Hand  Book  of  the  History,  Organization  and  Methods  of 
Association  Work.     International  Committee  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
New  York,  $1.00. 
A  list  of  the  many  other  publications  of  the  International 
Committee,  including  a  large  number  of  stereopticon  slides 
of  both  home  and  foreign  scenes,  may  be  had  upon  applica- 
tion. 

IX  and  X 
So  far  as  known  to  the  writer  there  are  no  books  concern- 
ing the  work  presented  in  these  chapters.     The  information 
was  secured  by  personal  interviews  and  from  pamphlets 
furnished  by  the  various  organizations. 

GENERAL 

The  Bible,  American  Standard  Edition  of  the  Revised 
Version.  Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons,  New  York,  net  I0.50 
and  up. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  233 


D.  W.  Faunce.     A  Young  Man's  Difficulties  with  His  Bible. 

American   Baptist    Publication    Society,  Philadelphia, 

net,  $0.25. 
R.  E.  Speer.     Things  That  Make  a  Man.     Westminster 

Press,  Philadelphia,  $0.10. 

F.  W.  Gunsaulus.     Young  Men  in  History.     F.  H.  Revell 

Co.,  Chicago,  $0.25. 
N.  D.  Hillis.     How  the  Inner  Light  Failed.     F.  H.  Revell 

Co.,  Chicago,  I0.25. 
N.  D.  Hillis.     A  Man's  Value  to  Society.     F;  H.  Revell 

Co.,  Chicago,  I1.25. 
N.  D.  Hillis.     The  Investment  of  Influence.     F.  H.  Revell 

Co.,  Chicago,  I1.25. 
W.  F.  Crafts.     Successful  Men  of  To-day.     Funk  &  Wag- 
nails,  New  York,  $1.00. 
W.  A.  Bodell.     The  Spiritual  Athlete.     F.  H.  Revell  Co., 

Chicago,  I0.35. 
Thain  Davidson.     Thoroughness.     F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  Chi- 
cago, $0.35. 
Mark   Hopkins.      Modern  Skepticism    in  Its  Relation  to 

Young  Men.     F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  Chicago,  I0.25. 
T.  T.  Munger.     On  the  Threshold.     Houghton,  Mifflin  & 

Co.,  Boston,  $1.00. 
C.  H.  Parkhurst.     Talks  to  Young  Men.     The  Century  Co. 

New  York,  $1.00. 
James  Stalker.      Men  and    Morals.      F.    H.    Revell  Co., 

Chicago,  I0.75. 
H.  C.  Trumbull.     Border  Lines  in  the  Field  of  Doubtful 

Practices.     F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  Chicago,  81.00. 
J.I.Vance.  Royal  Manhood.  F.  H.  RevellCo.,Chicago,$i.25. 
J.  I.  Vance.     The  Young  Man  Four  Square.     F.  H.  Revell 

Co.,  Chicago,  $0.35. 
Beverly  Warner.     The  Young  Man  in  Modem  Life.     Dodd, 

Mead  &  Co.,  New  York,  net,  $0.85. 

G.  C.  Lorimer.     Messages  of  Today  to  the  Men  of  Tomor- 

row.    American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  Philadel- 
phia, net,  1 1. 10. 


\,  \ « w  A  ,^^ : 

or  The    ' 
or 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


2(50cl'5UU 
FfB  7     1955" 


^^Y2?1956rff 


LD  21-95m-ll.'50(2877sl6)476 


STACKS 

ftNlEtgST 


^9 


" 


'-OAN  DEPT. 

APR10^5S7 

.   Jft-    6J967IO 


^^P  2  5  1967 


t 


// 


+d^7 


m. 


^■ 


'^:. 


'4^ 


.1=^' 


'S<^    "    ' 


